JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel carried out a “targeted strike” against a top terrorist in Beirut on Friday. Lebanese media reported that a drone fired several missiles on the area known as Dahiyeh, killing at least 12 people and wounding others.
An Israeli official says the Israel Defense Forces targeted a senior Hezbollah leader named Ibrahim Akil. He has served as the head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and Jihad Council. Akil was responsible for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and the capture of American and German hostages in Lebanon during the 1980s.
The Israeli military’s chief spokesman says Friday's strike killed Akil as well as 10 other Hezbollah operatives.
PHOTO: People gather near a damaged building at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The strike was the first such Israeli attack in the Lebanese capital in months, coming right after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with a major, deadly rocket barrage after an unprecedented assault on Hezbollah's communications devices.
On Thursday, Israeli warplanes also blew up more than 1,000 rockets Hezbollah was preparing to launch, and more than 100 of the terror group's rocket launchers. Some Lebanese called that overnight rocket-neutralizing attack one of the most intense since Hezbollah joined the multi-front war launched by its terrorist ally Hamas back on October 7, 2023.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared a "new phase" in the conflict with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. “Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price," Gallant stated.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also announced they have approved the military plans for the north.
Hezbollah Addresses Attack on Its Pagers and Walkie-Talkies
This week brought an unprecedented preemptive strike against Hezbollah operatives as thousands of the terrorist army's pagers and walkie-talkies suddenly exploded, wounding thousands of its people and killing dozens.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the surprise attack, and the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is considering a declaration of war.
"The enemy crossed, in this operation, all the rules, laws, and red lines," Nasrallah declared.
He indicated that as long as the IDF is at war with Hezbollah's ally Hamas in Gaza, his terror army will never let Israel's residents return safely to the north. "No military escalation, no killing, no assassinations, and no all-out war can return the (Israeli) population to the borders. Never, God willing," he said.
Yigal Carmon of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) tells CBN News Hezbollah's prestige has dropped dramatically in the Arab world. "The Arab world sees that they are not as big and strong as they pretended to be," Carmon explained. "The Arabs are happy about it because they were a danger to them no less than they were a danger to us."
The Biden administration claims it stands by Israel but doesn't want to see the fighting with Hezbollah escalate. Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, announced, "This administration is working night and day to ensure that there is not a wider regional war.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council looked into the escalating tensions in the Middle East. Some blamed both Israel and the terrorist groups attacking the Jewish nation.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark noted, “It is clear that unless and until the root causes of the conflict are addressed, violence will persist and escalate."
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon put the blame squarely on Tehran. "All (the terror groups) are Iran's attack dogs unleashed to spread death and destruction across the region," Danon said.
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