Israel has once again wreaked havoc in Lebanon. At least 59 people have been injured in the airstrike carried out in the capital Beirut, while eight people have died. Hezbollah’s top commander Ibrahim Aqeel has been killed in this attack. He was the head of Hezbollah’s Radwan unit. Earlier, Hezbollah had fired several rockets on northern Israel, after which Israel carried out these attacks.
It was not immediately clear what Israel’s target was in Beirut’s crowded southern suburbs. The attacks occurred at rush hour as people were leaving work and students were heading home from school. Lebanon’s Health Ministry did not elaborate on the identities of the victims. Lebanese news channels broadcast footage of injured people being pulled out of a collapsed building as ambulances rushed to the scene of the attack. Earlier, Hezbollah fired more than 140 rockets at northern Israel on Friday, in response to which the Israeli army carried out “targeted strikes” in Beirut, Lebanon.
An official close to the Hezbollah group also confirmed to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity, that Aqeel was present when the building was targeted on Friday. Aqeel has served as head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and the Jihad Council, the group’s highest military body. The US State Department has imposed sanctions on Aqeel for his alleged role in the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, and for directing the capture of American and German hostages in Lebanon and holding them hostage there during the 1980s.
The attack in Dahiyeh, a few kilometers from downtown Beirut, occurred during rush hour when people were leaving work and students were heading home from school. Hezbollah fired 140 rockets into northern Israel on Friday morning, a day after the terror group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to avenge Israel’s massive bombing, the Israeli military and the terror group gave this information. The Israeli military said that three rounds of rockets were fired on Friday afternoon, targeting sites along the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah said it targeted several locations along the border with Katyusha rockets, including several air defense bases and the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade. It said this was the first time these targets had been attacked. The Israeli military said 120 missiles were fired at the Golan Heights, Safed and Upper Galilee regions, some of which were destroyed in the air. The army said firefighters were trying to extinguish fires caused by pieces of debris that fell to the ground in several areas. The army did not say whether any missiles hit their targets or whether there were any casualties. The army said 20 missiles were fired at the Meron and Netua regions, most of which fell in open areas. The army said there were no reports of casualties.