Israel Beheaded Military Leadership – The Times

Hezbollah has suffered its third major blow in a matter of days with the killing of the top brass of its elite force, Radwan, and 13 other militants in an Israeli air strike on Beirut. The group confirmed that the head of Hezbollah’s military wing, Ibrahim Aqil, and his two deputies were killed in Friday’s attack on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital. The bombing, which flattened a residential building and killed participants of a meeting of the elite force along with 15 others, including three children, came on the heels of a sabotage of pagers and walkie-talkies that killed 37 people. The attack has raised new questions about the capabilities of the Iran-backed group and dealt a blow to the morale of its fighters.

In addition to Radwan Force Commander Ibrahim Aqil, Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi, the man who had led the group’s operations against Israel since the start of the Gaza war, was also eliminated. Confirming the death of Aqil, who was wanted by the United States for his involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, Hezbollah hailed him as “one of its great leaders.” The massive crater was Israel’s second attack on Hezbollah’s military leadership, following the July death of Fuad Shukr, a senior operations chief for the group.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said he was “very concerned about the increased escalation” and called for “maximum restraint” from all sides. The Israeli military said it had carried out a “targeted attack” on Aqil as he was “attending a meeting with commanders.” The United States had offered a $7 million reward for information on Aqil, describing him as a “core member” of an organization that claimed responsibility for the 1983 embassy bombing that killed 63 people. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said after the attack that Israel was “not aiming for a major escalation in the region,” but Hamas called it a “brutal and terrorist aggression” and an “escalation.” Iran’s foreign ministry accused Israel of seeking to “expand the geography of the war.”