Israel counterattack – Beirut: Second top Hezbollah commander killed

Hezbollah military commander Ibrahim Aqil masterminded a plan to launch a devastating attack on Israel similar to the terrorist attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7 last year, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said. Hezbollah spoke of the martyrdom of one of its “great leaders” in reference to Aqil. About 10 commanders of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force were also killed in Beirut on Friday, according to the Israeli army.

Dozens killed in attacks
According to Lebanese sources, the attack in a densely populated suburb of the capital killed at least 14 people and wounded at least 66 others. According to media reports, Aqil was the successor to military commander Fuad Shukr, who was also killed by Israel on August 30. Aqil was the de facto commander of the elite Radwan force, Hagari said. In this role, he was responsible for anti-tank, explosives and air defense operations, among other things. The man organized numerous terrorist attacks and also attempted to enter Israel.

“Aqil had a lot of blood on his hands” and was responsible for the “deaths of many innocent civilians,” Hagari said. The US, as an ally of Israel, had placed a $7 million bounty (about €6.27 million) on Aqil. Aqil was also the mastermind behind a Hezbollah militia plan to attack northern Israel, Hagari said. This “plan to conquer the Galilee” envisaged “infiltrating Israel, taking control of the communities in the Galilee, and killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians, similar to what Hamas did on October 7,” Hagari said.

Warning of danger of a ‘great war’
In that attack on October 7, 2023, terrorists from the Hezbollah-affiliated Hamas and other extremist groups killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped about 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip. This was the trigger for the Gaza War. Since then, there has been almost daily mutual shelling between Israel and Hezbollah. The militia does not want to stop its attacks until there is a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib sees the danger of a major war.

“Either this council forces Israel to stop its aggression,” Bou Habib told the UN Security Council in New York, “or we will be silent witnesses to the great explosion that is on the horizon today.” You must understand that this explosion will spare neither the East nor the West and will throw us back into the Dark Ages.” Due to the situation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed his trip to the UN general debate in New York, scheduled for Tuesday, by one day.

Israel wants border area back
“We do not intend to go to war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, but we cannot continue as before,” Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon told a meeting of the UN Security Council. Israel has been trying to weaken the pro-Iranian militia for weeks. This includes targeted attacks on commando personnel, infrastructure, rocket launchers and warehouses. Using diplomatic and increasing military pressure, Israel wants Hezbollah to withdraw from the border area, as required by a UN resolution. Once the area near the border is safe again, 60,000 Israeli refugees are expected to return to their homes and apartments.

Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute think tank told the Wall Street Journal that Israel wants to neutralize Hezbollah’s ability to wage war by striking key personnel, telecommunications networks and weapons systems. He predicted more such attacks, possibly against long-range missiles with larger warheads and precision-guided munitions. “This is more than just a message,” he told the US newspaper. “It is to pull the rug out from under Hezbollah’s military capabilities and ensure that it no longer poses the threat that it has specifically threatened for the past 11 months and much longer,” the report said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced after the attack on Hezbollah members in Beirut that Israel would continue to defend itself against its enemies. “The series of operations in the new phase of the war will continue until we achieve our goal: the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” he said, according to his office. Netanyahu said: “Our goals are clear and our actions speak for themselves.”

Hezbollah announced further attacks on Israel
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced in a nationally televised speech on Thursday that the shelling of northern Israel would continue. Israel can only allow people to return safely to the north if the war in the Gaza Strip is stopped. At the same time, Nasrallah accused Israel of being responsible for the explosions of pagers and portable radios this week. According to the authorities, at least 37 people were killed on Tuesday and Wednesday. About 3,000 others were injured. Israel has not yet acknowledged this. Hezbollah leader Nasrallah spoke of a declaration of war and promised retaliation.

“Israel has dealt Hezbollah a very strong psychological and tactical blow that is devastating,” Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert and professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, told the Wall Street Journal. But this week’s strikes would not change the strategic calculus between Hezbollah and Israel. “Anyone who knows Hezbollah from the inside will tell you that these attacks will harden Hezbollah’s stance and make it even more determined to resist and continue on its current path,” the expert told the American newspaper.

The US is trying to mediate
Meanwhile, according to President Joe Biden, the U.S. administration will continue to work on the return of displaced people from the Israeli-Lebanese border area. “We will continue to try, as we have done from the beginning, to ensure that people in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon can return to their homes,” Biden said during a cabinet meeting, according to reporters present. “We will continue to work on it until it is done. We have a long way to go.”