Hezbollah leadership 'almost completely dismantled' claims Israel, as death toll rises after Beirut strikes

21 September 2024, 16:20

Israel has claimed it has significantly weakened Hezbollah’s leadership after its forces launched a wave of strikes on Lebanon's capital.

“Hezbollah’s military chain of command has been almost completely dismantled,” the military said on X, a day after an attack on Beirut’s southern suburb killed top commander Ibrahim Aqil.

A second Hezbollah commander, Ahmed Wahbi, was killed in the strikes on Beirut, the Lebanese militant group  confirmed.

At least 37 people were killed in total in Friday's strikes, according to Lebanese officials. The victims included three children and seven women. Some 68 were wounded.

The IDF also shared images of eight men, which it claimed were Hezbollah's top military commanders, in a pyramid below leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Six of the eight men, including Wahbi and Aquil, had a red tag on their picture which said “eliminated”.

At least 31 people were killed in total in the strike, according to Lebanese officials. The victims included three children and seven women. Some 68 were wounded.

Read More: Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut, IDF says

Read More: Hezbollah launches barrage of 140 rockets into Israel as IDF strike on Beirut 'kills 8'

Wahbi oversaw the work of the Radwan special Hezbollah unit, which were said to have launched raids south into Israel.

Aqil was designated as a global terrorist by the US Justice Department for his alleged role in the 1983 US embassy bombings in Beirut which resulted in the deaths of 63 people.

Palestinian militant group Hamas, who are engaged in their own 11-month war with Israel in Gaza, said the killing of Aqil was a "folly" and a "crime. They said that Israel would "pay the price".

Eleven others are believed to have died while at least 66 are injured following the drone strike which hit an apartment block in the city.

It comes after the UN said that pager attacks, which killed dozens in Lebanon and injured thousands more, broke international law. Israel has been widely blamed for the exploding electronic devices, but has not taken responsibility.

In a statement on X, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said: “With the precise intelligence direction of the Intelligence Division, air force fighter jets targeted the Beirut area and killed Ibrahim Aqil, the head of the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s operations team, the acting commander of the Radwan [special forces] unit.

"In the attack, together with Akil, the top operatives and the chain of command of the Radwan unit were eliminated.”

This comes amid a backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East after handheld devices across Lebanon exploded on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 37.

Friday's Israeli strike came after Hezbollah launched 140 rockets at the country's northern border.

Israel's military has reported the Hezbollah rockets arrived in three waves, targeting sites along its war-torn border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah claimed it struck the border with around 120 Katyusha rockets, hitting multiple air defence bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armoured brigade.

Read more: Pager attacks in Lebanon were '15 years in the making', intelligence sources say, as Israel launches heavy air raids

The Israeli ambulance service confirmed there has been no immediate reports of casualties.

A further 20 were shot at the areas of Meron and Netua.

Hezbollah has said the strikes were a response to Israeli attacks on villages and homes in southern Lebanon.

Late on Thursday, Israel’s military confirmed it had struck hundreds of rocket launchers across its border with Lebanon.

Israel said previously that it struck hundreds of rocket launchers and other Hezbollah infrastructure on Thursday night.

A statement from the Israel Defence Forces on X said: "With the direction of IDF intelligence, the IAF struck approximately 30 Hezbollah launchers and terrorist infrastructure sites, containing approximately 150 launcher barrels that were ready to fire projectiles toward Israeli territory.

"Additionally, the IDF struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and a weapons storage facility in multiple areas in southern Lebanon."

As tensions continue to bubble over in the region, the UK has urged restraint, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Tonight I'm calling for an immediate ceasefire from both sides," Mr Lammy told Reuters.

"We are all very, very clear that we want to see a negotiated political settlement so that Israelis can return to their homes in northern Israel and indeed Lebanese to return to their homes.

"It came after Hezbollah's leader accused Israel of "crossing all red lines" after pager and walkie-talkie blast attacks in Lebanon, warning that they could be a "declaration of war". The attacks are said to have killed 37 people and injuring more than 3,400 others.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel of carrying out massacres, with the intention of killing "5,000 people in two minutes".

Meanwhile the United Nations human rights chief said that weaponising ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare, and targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law, the .

Volker Turk told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council there must be an independent and transparent investigation of the two attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday where these devices exploded.

"Those who ordered and carried out these attacks must be held to account," he said.

In Gaza, Palestinian authorities said 15 people were killed overnight in multiple Israeli attacks.