Israel on Friday took out Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah leader behind a trio of bombing attacks that killed more than 250 Americans in the 1980s — as the Jewish state moves toward all-out war with the Iranian proxy group.
Aqil – most recently a member of Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council – “was eliminated in a targeted intelligence-based strike in Beirut,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Also known as “Tahsin,” Aqil was a “principal leader” of the cell responsible for both the April 18, 1983, bombing at the US embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people including 17 Americans; and the Marine Corps barracks bombing in the Lebanese capital on Oct. 23 of that year, which killed 241 US troops and civilian personnel.
At the time of Aqil’s death, the IDF said, he and other terror commanders were planning a fresh incursion into Israel to “kidnap and murder innocent civilians in a similar manner to the October 7 Massacre.”
Lebanese health officials said at least 12 people died in the strike and 66 others were wounded, nine of whom were in serious condition.
Path of destruction
Friday marked the 40th anniversary of yet another attack believed to have been masterminded by Aqil, in which a car bomb targeted the US embassy annex in East Beirut, killing 23 people, including two Americans.
The US had announced a $7 million reward in April 2023 for any info leading to Aqil’s whereabouts.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday that he was “certainly not aware of any pre-notification [by the IDF to Washington] of those strikes,” noting that it was “not atypical” for the Israeli military to strike without giving the US a heads up.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari confirmed the strike was taken to “ensure [Israeli’s] safe and secure return to their homes in northern Israel” in a video statement posted to X.
“Since October 8, Hezbollah has fired over 8,000 rockets, missiles and explosive UAVs [drones] at Israeli civilians, forcing over 60,000 Israelis to evacuate from their homes,” he said. “Just today, Hezbollah fired over 200 rockets at Israel.”
Escalation?
Friday’s strike follows a pair of moves by Israel against Hezbollah that stunned the world with their efficiency and effectiveness.
On Tuesday, Israel’s elite Mossad intelligence and covert operations agency unleashed a long-planned attack in which they blew up pagers belonging to Hezbollah members, killing at least 12 and injuring 2,800.
The next day, the agency detonated walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, killing at least 20 and injuring 450 more.
The operations began just a day after Israel’s security cabinet approved “returning the residents of the north [of Israel] securely to their homes” as a formal war objective.
That followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration last week suggesting a political settlement alone would not return displaced citizens to northern Israel, and that the IDF was “preparing for a broad campaign” to accomplish that objective.
Still, President Biden opened his Cabinet meeting Friday morning by acknowledging that he still believed a diplomatic solution could be reached with Hezbollah to allow residents of northern Israel to return home.
We continue trying “to make sure both people in Northern Israel, as well as Southern Lebanon, are able to go back to their homes, and go back safely,” Biden said. “The secretary of state, the secretary of defense [and] our whole team is working with the intelligence community, trying to get that done.
“We’re going to keep at it until we get it done,” he added.
Kirby affirmed Biden’s stance in his call with reporters, stating, “our intensive diplomacy efforts continue.”
“We believe, continue to believe, that a diplomatic solution is the best way forward, [as opposed to] escalating any of the military conflict,” he added.
