Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut suburb 'kills' top Hezbollah commander

Top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil and other senior figures of the group have been killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, the Israeli military claimed.

"The Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a targeted strike in the Beirut area, eliminating Aqil" along with other "senior figures in the operations network and command chain" of Radwan, the military said in a statement on Friday.

The Israeli military statement also claimed Aqil and other commanders killed in the strike were planning an attack on northern Israel.

At least 12 people were killed and 66 wounded from the Israeli strike, Lebanon's Health Ministry said in a statement.

"The number of martyrs in the Israeli enemy strike on Beirut's southern suburbs rose to 12 people with 66 wounded, including nine in critical condition," the ministry said, adding rescuers were still looking through the rubble.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a televised press conference claimed that the Hezbollah members had gathered "underground in the heart of a residential neighbourhood" when they were struck.

Elite Radwan unit

Aqil served as the head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and Jihad Council, the group’s highest military body.

The US State Department had sanctioned Aqil for his alleged role in carrying out the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people.

In addition, the US said that he had directed the taking of American and German hostages in Lebanon and held them there during the 1980s.

The US had offered a $7 million reward for information on him.

Reactions to the attack

In response to Israel's strike, Hezbollah said it launched rockets at a north Israel intelligence base it blamed for "targeted" killings.

The Iran-backed group said its fighters had targeted "the main intelligence headquarters in the northern region responsible for assassinations... with volleys of Katyusha rockets".

According to the Israeli Army Radio, at least 150 rockets were fired from Lebanon at military sites and settlements in northern Israel within one hour.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that the strike is a serious escalation and emphasised that this action is part of a broader pattern that resembles “mass genocide.”

His comments came during a cabinet session he chaired in the government headquarters in Beirut, according to a statement from his media office.

In addition, the Iranian embassy in Lebanon condemned the attack as "Israeli madness that crossed all lines" by targeting residential buildings, it said in a post on X.

Most intensive strikes

Earlier, Lebanon's official news agency reported that at least five children had also been killed.

Witnesses in Lebanon reported jet noise over the city around the time of the attack, and a cloud of smoke could be seen rising from the area.

Footage of the targeted area broadcast by Lebanon's Al Jadeed showed burnt-out cars and a street strewn with rubble.

The strike is the third to hit the southern suburbs of Beirut since the start of Israel's war on Gaza on October 7, with the focus of the violence shifting dramatically this week from Gaza to Lebanon.

Hezbollah suffered an unprecedented attack this week in which pagers and walkie-talkies reportedly used by its members exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands.

On Thursday night, the Israeli military carried out its most intensive strikes in southern Lebanon since the conflict erupted almost a year ago.