An Israeli airstrike killed a senior Hezbollah official and at least 15 others in Beirut on Friday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The attack on Hezbollah's Radwan unit reportedly resulted in the deaths of special operations commander Ibrahim Akil and 15 other terrorists, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Announced On Saturday, Hezbollah Release More than 8,000 rockets, missiles and drones have been fired at Israel since October 8, the day after Hamas launched its deadly attacks on Israel.
“Ibrahim Akil had the blood of so many innocent people on his hands,” the IDF said in a press release. “The IDF has a duty to protect the Israeli people and to ensure their safe and secure return to their homes in the north of Israel.”
The IDF said Akil was responsible for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people, as well as the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks that killed 241 U.S. soldiers and the kidnapping of several Americans and Germans in Lebanon. The IDF said Akil and other commanders were planning an upcoming invasion of Israel.
Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike on the town of Shama (Chamah) in southern Lebanon, as cross-border clashes continue between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters on August 1, 2024. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU/AFP via Getty Images)
“These terrorists were planning to do the same thing in northern Israel that Hamas did in southern Israel on October 7: invade Israeli homes and kill innocent people,” Friday's press release stated. “They were planning further terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.”
In two separate attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, Israel remotely detonated hundreds of communications devices run by Hezbollah, killing at least nine people and wounding around 300. (Related: Israel and Hezbollah exchange gunfire after IDF launches major pre-emptive strike)
Hezbollah is estimated to have between 40,000 and 50,000 members and is “the most heavily armed non-state actor in the world.” According to According to a 2018 study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Radwan Force has been responsible for the majority of the group's recent cross-border attacks into Israel.
“We are determined to fulfill our mission to achieve our goals: protecting the Israeli people, bringing home the hostages, and ensuring the lasting defeat of Hamas in Gaza,” the IDF wrote.
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