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Ibrahim Muhammad Aqil

On 20 September 2024, Israel announced the assassination of Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Ibrahim Mohamed Akiel, also known as Ibrahim Mohamed Akil, also known as Abd al-Qadr `Aqil, also known as `Abd-al-Qadir, also known as Ghosn Ali Abdel Mehdi, also known as Tahsin, with two missiles fired by an F-35 aircraft at an apartment in the Jamous area in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Lebanese News Agency reported that four missiles were used in the raid, while the Lebanese Civil Defense spoke of the destruction of two buildings in the area surrounding the Al-Qaim complex. Lebanese media reported that Aqil was holding a meeting with Palestinian and Lebanese leaders during the bombing. Videos showed a thick cloud of smoke rising over Beirut after residents of the area confirmed that they heard a loud explosion.

The Israeli army said in a statement that the raid also killed "senior leaders in the Operations Command and the Radwan Force, of which Aqil was the de facto commander." According to the Israeli army, "Aqil and the leaders who were eliminated were among the planners of Hezbollah's plan to storm the Galilee, which aimed to storm the towns of the Galilee and kill civilians in a manner similar to what Hamas carried out on October 7." The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that the death toll from the Israeli raid on the southern suburb of Beirut has risen to 14 people, with 66 others injured, in a toll that is likely to rise. The targeted building consists of 6 floors, and it completely collapsed as a result of the Israeli attack, and a number of neighboring buildings were damaged.

Reuters quoted two security sources as saying that the Israeli strike hit an area near major Hezbollah facilities in the southern suburbs of Beirut.The raid came amid growing Israeli military operations targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, whether through air strikes or a series of bombings that targeted communications devices used by Hezbollah members, killing 37 people and wounding about 3,000 others on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The American website "Axios" reported, quoting an Israeli official, that the entire senior leadership of Hezbollah's Radwan Force, numbering 20, was eliminated in the raid. The website explained: "The senior leadership of the Radwan forces, 20 leaders, were killed during the Israeli air strike." Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi announced that the Hezbollah leaders killed by Israel today in its attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut planned to carry out the October 7 operation on the northern border. "The Hezbollah leaders we eliminated today planned for years to carry out October 7 on the northern border. We reached them and we will reach everyone who threatens the security of the citizens of the State of Israel," Halevi said after the Israeli army announced the killing of Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Akil.

Ibrahim Aqil was a military leader in the Lebanese Hezbollah. He held several positions in the party, the last of which was the leader of the Military Council, succeeding Fouad Shukr. Israeli Army Radio correspondent Doron Kadosh confirmed that after the assassination of Hezbollah Chief of Staff Fouad Shukr, the two most prominent military figures remaining in the party are Ibrahim Aqil, head of the operations department, and Ali Karaki, commander of the party's southern region.

Ibrahim Muhammad Aqil - also known as Ibrahim Tahseen - was born in the town of Bednayel in the Baalbek district on December 24, 1962. He had been a member of Hezbollah since the 1980s, and was part of the cell that claimed responsibility for the bombing of the US embassy in Beirut in April 1983, a bombing that killed 63 people, including 52 Lebanese and American employees. He also participated in the attack on the US Marine barracks in October 1983, in which 241 American soldiers were killed.

The US authorities also accuse him of contributing to the detention of American and German hostages in Lebanon, especially the two German hostages Rudolf Cordes and Alfred Schmid, who were kidnapped in January 1987 in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Ibrahim Aqil was a member of Hezbollah's Jihad Council, the highest military body, and media sources say that he also had significant military activity in Syria after Hezbollah entered the armed conflict between the Syrian regime and the opposition following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution. Lebanese media reported that Aqil was responsible for Hezbollah's special operations department, and that he also assumed the duties of the party's military leader, Fouad Shukr, who was assassinated by Israel on July 30, 2024. He also served as commander of the Radwan Force, an elite unit of Hezbollah.

In July 2015, the US Treasury Department designated Ibrahim Aqeel as a terrorist suspect under Executive Order 13582 for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah. Subsequently, on September 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of State designated Aqil as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, as amended. These decisions resulted in the freezing of all of Aqeel’s properties and funds in areas subject to US jurisdiction, and accordingly US citizens are prohibited from entering into any transactions with Aqeel. Interpol has also issued arrest warrants for Aqeel on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of two German hostages and a bombing in the French capital, Paris, in the late 1980s.