The IDF confirms the killing of senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil in an airstrike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut earlier this afternoon.In a statement, the IDF says Aqil was the head of Hezbollah’s military operations, the acting commander of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, and the head of a plan to invade the Galilee.Alongside Aqil, the top brass of Hezbollah’s operations array and the leadership of the Radwan Force were killed in the strike, according to the military.“Aqil and the commanders who were eliminated were among the architects of the ‘plan for the occupation of the Galilee,’ in which Hezbollah planned to raid Israeli territory, occupy the communities of the Galilee, murder and kill innocents, similar to what the Hamas terror organization carried out in the murderous massacre on October 7,” the IDF says in the statement.
The US Government has a "Rewards for Justice" page for Aqil:
Rewards for Justice is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information on Hizballah key leader Ibrahim Aqil.Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Tahsin, serves on Hizballah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council.During the 1980s, Aqil was a principal member of Islamic Jihad Organization—Hizballah’s terrorist cell—that claimed the bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the U.S. Marine barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 U.S. personnel.In the 1980s, Aqil directed the taking of American and German hostages in Lebanon and held them there.On July 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Aqil pursuant to Executive Order 13582 for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah. Subsequently, on September 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of State designated Aqil as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended.
Well, he received justice, but I don't think there will be any reward. As of this writing, I don't see any official US reaction to the killing, even though he was involved in the deaths of hundreds of Americans.
Any reaction, or lack of reaction, tells more about how the current and potential next administration feels about Israel than any number of carefully crafted "both sides" statements.
One other detail: Aqil was killed in an underground bunker or basement beneath a residential building in Beirut. And somehow most or all of the dead are Hezbollah.
Nobody takes more care to avoid civilian casualties than Israel.
Haaretz reports that Aqil was injured in a pager explosion and was released from the hospital this morning. Israel is probably monitoring the injured to track the top leaders for future assassinations.
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