Israeli warplanes launched an aerial assault on a densely populated residential area within the Southern Suburb (Al-Dahiyah Al-Janoubiyah) in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Friday, September 20. At least 37 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the aggression. Israel claimed that Ibrahim Aqil, the commander of Al-Radwan Force affiliated with Hezbollah, as well as several other senior commanders were assassinated in the assault.
Aqil is believed to be an influential commander in Hezbollah, who organized and directed complex military operations against the Israeli occupation. According to media reports, Aqil was also a significant member of the Islamic Jihad Organization affiliated with Hezbollah, which claimed responsibility for the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut in April 1983. In April 2023, Rewards for Justice, which is an inter-agency program affiliated with the United States Department of State’s national security rewards program, offered a reward of up to USD 7 million for information on Ibrahim Aqil.
On Friday night, Hezbollah issued a statement mourning its senior commander Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Hajj Abdul Qader. “Al-Quds was always in his heart, mind, and thoughts day and night. Al-Quds was the passion of his soul, and praying in its mosque was his greatest dream,” the statement said.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah mourned three of its fighters, Hussein Ali Mohsen Ghandour (born in 1962), also known as Nidal, Ali Subhi Mansour (born in 1985), also known as Karbala, and Hussein Hassan Fakih (born in 1996), also known as Sajed, who were killed in the same assault. The Lebanese resistance said that Ghandour, Mansour and Fakih were “martyred all the Way to Al-Quds” indicating that they were fighting within Gaza’s Lebanese support front.
Moreover, some media sources falsely reported that members of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) were assassinated in the Israeli aggression on Beirut’s southern Suburb. Nevertheless, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said on Friday that it was told by informed sources that none of IRGC members were present in the area at the time of the attack.
Friday marked one of the fiercest days in the ongoing battles between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli Army Radio announced that a barrage of rockets was launched from Lebanon on Israeli military sites and settlements in different areas occupied by Israel including Galilee, the Golan Heights and the Meron area in the north. The Israeli army said that Hezbollah targeted the mentioned areas with at least 150 rockets.
With heightened tensions between Israel and Lebanon, numerous reports citing Israeli officials stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed his planned visit to the United States that was scheduled for September 24 by one day over security concerns. Netanyahu is set to travel to New York in the last week of September to take part in the high-level general debate among world leaders at the annual United Nations General Assembly. The Israeli Prime Minister is expected to deliver a speech before the UN body, despite having acted indifferently to the United Nations’ continuous condemnations of Israel’s aggressions and violations of human rights across the region.
In the aftermath of Israel’s attacks on Beirut, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated on Friday: “We are, of course, very concerned about the heightened escalation… including the deadly strikes we saw in Beirut today. We urge all parties to de-escalate immediately. All must exercise maximum restraint.”
Addressing the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the “Middle East” on Friday, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani also called on the council “to condemn Israel and take decisive action to end its malicious activities in the region.”
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the UNSC session on Friday condemned Israel’s actions against Lebanon and specifically addressed the cyber terrorist attacks carried out by Israel against Lebanon, “These attacks represent a new development in warfare, where communication tools become weapons, simultaneously exploding across marketplaces, on street corners, and in homes as daily life unfolds.” Türk emphasized that “this cannot be the new normal.” He also highlighted that the attacks are in opposition of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. “It is a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians.”
