Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut attack

People and first responders gather in front of a building targeted by an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 21 September 2024
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Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut attack

  • Airstrike that targeted Ibrahim Aqil leaves 16 dead, 66 injured
  • A number of people went missing following the strike, and families were searching for their children and relatives

BEIRUT: Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
The target was Hezbollah’s operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, who served on the group’s top military body.
Aqil was killed alongside members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit as they were holding a meeting in a 10-story building in the area of Al-Jamous, sources said.
The strike killed 16 people and wounded 66 others.

A number of people went missing following the strike, and families were searching for their children and relatives.
Sources told Arab News that Aqil and his colleagues were holding the meeting in an underground room, and therefore rescue workers were not able to retrieve their bodies four hours after the explosion.
An eyewitness told Arab News: “The strike leveled the building, which was residential, and it is difficult to determine the number of victims inside.”
Israeli media reported that the target, Aqil, was a “prominent Hezbollah member who directs the fighting in southern Lebanon.”
The US State Department had previously offered a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to Aqil’s arrest, stating that he is a “member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council and accused of the 1983 bombings of the Marine barracks and the US Embassy.”
Black smoke was seen rising from the site as people fled in all directions.
Hezbollah ambulances arrived at the scene, and paramedics were seen pulling out the injured, including children and the elderly. Hezbollah members quickly cordoned off the area.
The Israeli army described its attack as a “precise operation,” targeting a senior Hezbollah official.
The targeted building is near the Al-Qaem Mosque, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, and the area is considered within the party’s security zone.
This operation is the third of its kind targeting Beirut’s southern suburb, following the assassination of Hezbollah military official Fuad Shukr a month ago, and prior to that, Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri in January.
The operation comes amid a military escalation between Hezbollah and the Israeli army following mass explosions that targeted communication devices used by Hezbollah members on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries.
On Friday, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets toward Israeli military sites, one of which hit Al-Ulayqa base for the first time, located north of Katzrin in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, approximately 20 km from the Lebanese border.
The escalation coincided with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s Thursday speech, in which he vowed retaliation against Israel for its crime.
He described the explosions that hit the party as “major Israeli aggression that will face a severe reckoning and just retribution.”
Nasrallah added: “The real news is in what you will see, not what you will hear, and we are keeping it within a tight circle.”
Hezbollah launched Katyusha rockets at the 210th Golan Division headquarters in Nafah, and targeted the “command headquarters of the Golan Division’s military gathering at Yarden barracks,” the “headquarters of rocketry and artillery battalion in Yoav barracks,” and the “newly established headquarters of the 91st Division at Ayelet HaShahar.”
Israeli media reported that “Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, with the last salvo consisting of 20 rockets aimed at the Meron airbase in Upper Galilee.”

In the last 24 hours, Hezbollah continued to shell the Metula site, targeting, according to its statement, “Israeli soldiers’ position with a guided missile.”
The Israeli side confirmed that rockets hit the site. Hezbollah also struck “the main air defense base of the Northern Command at the Birya barracks with volleys of Katyusha rockets.”
The Israeli army confirmed that “two soldiers were killed and nine others injured in Hezbollah’s attacks on the border with Lebanon.” The army’s statement added: “The remaining injuries were caused by drone explosions that targeted Western Galilee.”
Since Thursday night and well into Friday, the Israeli army bombarded the southern Lebanese border areas with dozens of artillery shells, airstrikes, and ground sweeps from its military positions.
Israel’s Channel 14 reported: “The Israeli army will increase its attacks on Lebanon, with the number reaching dozens daily, starting this evening. Lebanon, not Gaza, is now Israel’s primary battlefield.”
The Israeli shelling on the town of Beit Lif resulted in the death of Hezbollah member Youssef Mohammed Al-Sayyed. Another member, Ali Hassan Al-Zein, was also mourned by Hezbollah.
Heavy shelling targeted Aita Al-Shaab, the outskirts of Alma Al-Shaab, Mays Al-Jabal, Odaisseh, Kfarkila, Al-Taybeh and Kfarshouba. Wadi Zebqine and the western sector were also subject to Israeli artillery shelling.
Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Odaisseh, Al-Taybeh, Aitaroun, Yaroun, Hanin and Aita Al-Shaab in Bint Jbeil.
Shortly after Nasrallah’s speech, the Israeli army carried out around 70 raids in 20 minutes over forested mountain areas in Mahmoudieh, Aaichiyeh, Al-Rehan and the surroundings of the Barghaz River in the south.
These raids caused “mountains to evaporate,” according to witnesses.
The Israeli army claimed that “it is attacking Hezbollah targets to damage and destroy its terrorist capabilities and military infrastructure.”
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed that “air force fighter jets targeted hundreds of launch barrels set to immediately fire toward Israeli territory.”
Adraee stated that the Israeli army struck “over 100 rocket launchers and additional military infrastructures containing 1,000 launch barrels ready for immediate shooting.”
Adraee accused Hezbollah of “turning southern Lebanon into a war zone.”
He said: “For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them, and used civilians as human shields. The Israeli army is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes, and to achieve all the war goals.”
Israeli public broadcaster Kan announced that “Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, has approved battle plans for the northern front.”
In a separate statement, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant announced that “he has been deliberating the various possibilities of the evolution of the campaign against Hezbollah on the northern border.”
Gallant said: “This is a new phase in the war; it has significant opportunities, but also heavy risks.”
He noted that “Hezbollah is feeling chased, and the sequence of our military operations will continue.”
Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, told Sky News Arabia that “Washington believes that the war between Israel and Lebanon is not imminent.
“The best way to lessen tensions on the Lebanese and Gazan fronts is through diplomatic means.”


4 Italian UN peacekeepers injured by rocket attack in Lebanon

Updated 12 sec ago
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4 Italian UN peacekeepers injured by rocket attack in Lebanon

  • Israeli forces continue to pound targets in southern Lebanon and suburbs of Beirut
  • Paramedics and health facilities among those attacked; women and infants among dead as searches for victims buried in rubble continue

BEIRUT: At least five medical workers were reported dead on Friday as Israeli forces continued to pound targets in southern Lebanon and the outskirts of Beirut.

The attacks intensified after US envoy Amos Hochstein left Tel Aviv on Thursday evening and returned to Washington after discussions with Israeli authorities. This followed his talks with Lebanese officials on Tuesday and Wednesday about a proposed diplomatic solution to the conflict in Lebanon between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which marked its 52nd day on Friday. Hochstein did not disclose the outcome of the discussions.

On Friday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s Italian unit reported that four of its soldiers were injured when two rockets struck their headquarters in the western sector, in Shamaa. Tasked with monitoring the Blue Line that separates Lebanon from Israel, UNIFIL’s 10,000 peacekeepers have repeatedly come under fire during the conflict.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed her “deep indignation and concern” over “new attacks suffered by the Italian headquarters of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon.” She said “these attacks are unacceptable” and called on “the parties on the ground to guarantee, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers and to collaborate to identify those responsible quickly.”

UNIFIL said “two 122 mm rockets struck the Sector West headquarters” in Shamaa, about 5 kilometers from the Israeli border. The area has been a battleground for about a week. The injuries to the peacekeepers were not life-threatening and they were receiving treatment at the base’s hospital.

“UNIFIL strongly urges combating parties to avoid fighting next to its positions,” the force added.

Hezbollah said its fighters targeted Israeli troops in Shamaa with a salvo of rockets to prevent them from occupying the area. Israeli forces had advanced into the area over the previous two days and attempted further incursions toward the coastal town of Bayada, between Naqoura and Tyre.

Italy’s defense minister, Guido Crosetto, said he had contacted his Lebanese counterpart “reiterating that the Italian contingent of UNIFIL remains in southern Lebanon to offer a window of opportunity for peace, and cannot become hostage to attacks by militias.”

Also on Friday, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on Beirut’s suburbs, targeting buildings in Ain Al-Remmaneh, a predominantly Christian area adjacent to Chiyah.

Israeli forces also continued their attempts to advance into southern towns. A force entered Deir Mimas, beyond the border town of Kfarkela, where it ordered eight families still residing there to remain in their homes.

Deir Mimas is in the Marjayoun district of Nabatiyeh Governorate, about 90 kilometers from Beirut. Its mayor, George Nakad, confirmed “the incursion” and said soldiers had entered it from Kfarkela, through olive fields.

Photos circulating on social media appeared to show Israeli tanks crossing the Litani road at the Qlayaa-Deir Mimas-Burj Al-Molouk triangle, supported by aerial cover and airstrikes on southern regions.

Elsewhere, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with a guided missile south of the town of Khiam, which the Israeli army entered on Thursday. The tank was destroyed and its crew killed or injured, it added.

Israel on Friday intensified its reconnaissance flights over Lebanese regions exposed to airstrikes. Before 7 a.m., Israeli evacuation warnings circulated on social media ahead of strikes on parts of Hadath, Haret Hreik and Kafaat in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

About 30 minutes later, airstrikes hit residential buildings, one of which was located near the Lebanese University campus. Thick black smoke blanketed the area and the smell of gunpowder and other substances spread through neighborhoods, with reports of breathing problems and eye irritation.

Less than four hours later, Israeli forces issued a warning to residents of the Chiyah and Ain Al-Remaneh areas, and then targeted two residential buildings that also housed a medical laboratory, a gym, hair salons, beauty clinics, and clothes and fishing-tackle shops. One building was destroyed, the other cut in half.

The Israeli warnings sparked mass hysteria and displacement of the local population in Ain Al-Remaneh. Residents of Chiyah joined the exodus. Clashes were reported among the crowds after some blamed Hezbollah for the conflict. Six Israeli raids on the areas had taken place as of noon on Friday. The previous day, parts of the southern suburbs were hit intermittently by more than 10 Israeli air attacks.

In southern Lebanon, meanwhile, Israeli forces once again targeted ambulances belonging to Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization, which they said were were being used to “transport militants or weapons.” An attack on one of the organization’s ambulances at Deir Qanun junction, Ras Al-Ain, killed the paramedics inside.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said Israel forces were targeting paramedics and medical facilities in the south in violation of international laws and norms and humanitarian laws.

Israel also targeted villages in the deep south, including Ghaziyeh and areas in the vicinity of Sidon, with heavy attacks that reportedly resulted in casualties and great destruction.

Meanwhile, search operations continued to find bodies under the rubble of houses and other buildings damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks. Raids on southern villages, including Kafr Rumman, have resulted in seven confirmed deaths and one injury.

Four bodies were found under the rubble in Arabsalim. In Bekaa, several members of one family, including women and children, were killed by Israeli attacks on the village of Flawiye on Thursday. One person was reported missing. Eleven people from several families, including infants, were killed in attacks on Nabha.

Attacks on targets in northern Bekaa reached a peak on Thursday night, with 18 raids that killed 17 people in Baalbek, Maqneh, Younine, Beit Mchik, Brital and Hosh Al-Rafika.

Lebanese residents in areas stretching from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley and northern regions were alarmed on Friday morning by suspicious calls urging them to evacuate their homes. The calls sparked panic for a second consecutive day among people in several areas, including hotel guests in Beirut's Raouche district, residents of villages in Zgharta, and people in the village of Bebnine in Akkar, in the far north of the country

Others who received calls included residents of Beirut and its northern and eastern suburbs, including Furn El-Chebbak, Dekwaneh, Mar Roukoz, Burj Abi Haidar, Basta, Ras El-Nabeh, Bchamoun, Choueifat, and as far as Jbeil.

Hezbollah on Friday reaffirmed its ability to maintain its attacking threat and said it had targeted several locations in northern Israel. They included the settlement of Kiryat Shmona, the Haifa technical base about 35 kilometers from the border, and an Israeli early-warning and intelligence center linked to the 210th Golan Division on the summit of Mount Hermon in the occupied Syrian Golan. The Dovev barracks and a gathering of Israeli forces in the Manara settlement were also attacked.

Across Lebanon on Friday, national flags were raised at official institutions to mark the 81st anniversary of the country’s independence. In hundreds of shelters, children from displaced families sang the Lebanese national anthem, and some young people symbolically hoisted flags over the rubble in areas ravaged by recent attacks.

The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, described this year’s anniversary of independence as “a somber occasion, yet a reminder of the daily challenge to persevere, to uphold national unity, and to protect every inch of our homeland — south, north, east and sea — without surrender or despair.”

 


UN warns some who fled to Syria risking lives to return to Lebanon

Updated 15 min 7 sec ago
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UN warns some who fled to Syria risking lives to return to Lebanon

  • Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Syria, said: “These are very, very small numbers, but for us, even small numbers are worrying signals“
  • The UNHCR estimates that around 560,000 people have fled into Syria from neighboring Lebanon since late September

GENEVA: The UN voiced concern Friday that conditions were so dire in Syria that some Lebanese residents who had fled there seeking refuge from the Israel-Hezbollah war were opting to return to Lebanon.
There are “Lebanese families who are beginning to take the very difficult and potentially life-threatening decision to return to Lebanon,” said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the United Nations refugee agency’s representative in Syria.
“These are very, very small numbers, but for us, even small numbers are worrying signals,” he told reporters in Geneva via video link from the Syrian-Lebanese border.
The UNHCR estimates that around 560,000 people have fled into Syria from neighboring Lebanon since late September, when months of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah over the war in Gaza escalated into all-out war.
Lebanese authorities put the number even higher, at more than 610,000.
Vargas Llosa said that around 65 percent of those crossing into Syria — itself torn apart by 13 years of civil war — were Syrian nationals who had sought refuge in Lebanon from that conflict.
He pointed out that from 2017 up to September 23 this year, around 400,000 Syrians had returned to their country from Lebanon.
“We have had more or less the same number... in a period of seven to eight weeks,” he said, adding that some 150,000 Lebanese had also arrived in Syria during that period.
He hailed the “exemplary” and “extraordinary display of generosity” shown toward those arriving by communities across Syria, “whose infrastructure is destroyed, whose economy is destroyed.”
But he warned that given Syria’s own “catastrophic economic situation... it is unclear for how long this generosity will last.”
Worrying signs were already emerging, he said, pointing to the admittedly small numbers of people who were opting to return to Lebanon despite the risks.
UNHCR said that “on average up to 50 Lebanese individuals per day” were crossing back into Lebanon.
They were leaving because they thought “the conditions in Syria are appalling, and that they may be better off in Lebanon, in spite of the bombings,” Vargas Llosa said.
Back in Lebanon, they might have better support systems, easier access to services and even the ability to generate a little income, he said.
He warned that “unless there is a real injection of international support... this number of Lebanese choosing to return home to these extraordinarily difficult circumstances may grow in the coming weeks and months.”
“This would be extremely worrying.”
There were even some Syrian returnees who were opting to once again cross back into Lebanon, “primarily because of the extraordinarily dire economic conditions here in Syria,” Vargas Llosa said.
In the meantime, he said that there had recently been “an important decrease in the pace of arrivals” into Syria, from a peak of 10,000-15,000 per day to an average now of about 2,000.
Vargas Llosa charged that this was likely linked to Israel’s repeated bombings of border crossings.
“Syrians and Lebanese are very scared of using these escape routes,” he said, appealing to the Israeli military to “immediately stop these unacceptable attacks.”


Israeli strikes batter Lebanon, killing five medics

Updated 22 November 2024
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Israeli strikes batter Lebanon, killing five medics

  • Israel has pushed on with its intense military campaign against Hezbollah, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy could lead to an imminent ceasefire
  • Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli troops east of Khiyam at least four times on Friday

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes battered southern Lebanon and the outskirts of the capital Beirut on Friday, killing at least five medics, as ground troops clashed with Hezbollah fighters in the south.
Israel has pushed on with its intense military campaign against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy could lead to an imminent ceasefire.
US mediator Amos Hochstein said earlier this week in Beirut that a truce was “within our grasp.” He traveled on to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz before returning to Washington, according to the news outlet Axios.
His trip aimed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border, which escalated dramatically when Israel ramped up its strikes in late September and sent ground troops into Lebanon on Oct. 1.
Israeli troops have fought Hezbollah in a strip of towns all along the border and this week pushed deeper to the edges of Khiyam, a town some six km (four miles) from the border. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli troops east of Khiyam at least four times on Friday.
Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Israeli troops had also advanced in a string of villages to the west as well. They said Israel was most likely trying to isolate Khiyam ahead of a major attack on the town.
Israeli strikes on two other villages in southern Lebanon killed a total of five medics from a rescue force affiliated with Hezbollah, the Lebanese health ministry said.
The more than 3,500 people killed by Israeli strikes over the last year include more than 200 medics, the health ministry said.
Israel says its aim is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from Israel’s north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which began firing across the border in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Israel also mounted more strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a once densely populated stronghold of Hezbollah.
It issued evacuation orders on the social media platform X for several buildings in the area on Friday. Reuters footage showed one of the strikes appearing to pierce the center of a multi-story building, sending the whole structure toppling in a massive cloud of smoke.


UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon

Updated 22 November 2024
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UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon

  • “We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said
  • Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment”

BEIRUT: Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters on Friday in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of UN peacekeepers.
A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL told The Associated Press that they are monitoring “heavy clashes” in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast.
UNIFIL’s headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon’s southern edge close to the border with Israel.
“We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment.”
Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct. 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded.
The fighting came a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 attack on Israel respectively.
The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
Israel’s war has caused heavy destruction across Gaza, decimated parts of the territory and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel has also launched airstrikes against Lebanon after the Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ attack last October. A full-blown war erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.


Gaza ministry: hospitals to cut or stop services ‘within 48 hours’ over fuel shortages

Updated 22 November 2024
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Gaza ministry: hospitals to cut or stop services ‘within 48 hours’ over fuel shortages

  • All hospitals in Gaza would have to stop or reduce services “within 48 hours“

GAZA: The Hamas government’s health ministry warned Friday all hospitals in Gaza would have to stop or reduce services “within 48 hours” for lack of fuel, blaming Israel for blocking its entry.
“We raise an urgent warning as all hospitals in Gaza Strip will stop working or reduce their services within 48 hours due to the occupation’s (Israel’s) obstruction of fuel entry,” Marwan Al-Hams, director of Gaza’s field hospitals, said during a press conference.