More than 30 killed in Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah leaders in Beirut

More than 30 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon’s capital city, according to Lebanese health officials.

Health Minister Firass Abiad said during a Saturday news conference that the strike in southern Beirut left 31 people dead, including seven women and three children. At least 68 people were also injured, with about 15 still recovering in the hospital and two remain in critical condition, he added.

The strike, which took place Friday, took out Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s operations unit and the commander of the elite special forces unit the Radwan Force, according to the Israeli military. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) added that other senior Radwan commanders were also killed.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Aqil and the other Radwan commanders were huddled underground “beneath a residential building in the heart of the Dahieh neighborhood, using civilians as human shields.”

“They had gathered to coordinate terrorist activities against the citizens of Israel,” he said Friday.

The attack came not long after Hezbollah launched around 140 rockets toward the Jewish state, although most were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, according to the Israeli military. 

It also comes after the deadly pager and hand-held radio attacks earlier this week — along with subsequent strikes on military leaders — which has raised fears that a larger Israeli attack on Hezbollah is imminent, and a wider war is inevitable.

The explosions killed at least 37 people and injured close to 3,000, according to officials. Israel’s military, however, has not confirmed or denied its involvement in the attack. 

Israel and Hezbollah, a terrorist-designated organization by the U.S., have gone back-and-forth since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 Israelis and more than 250 people were taken hostage.

In response, Israel’s military retaliated with an offensive that, so far, has killed around 41,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.