Hamas has warned Israel will “pay a price” after a top Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s operations commander, was killed in the strike on a block of apartments in the city’s southern suburbs on Friday afternoon. Lebanon said 14 were killed and 60 were injured in the attack.
It came after Hezbollah, which has been engaged in near daily skirmishes with Israel since the Gaza war began, fired 140-150 rockets into Israel earlier in the day.
Hamas, based in Gaza, described the killing of Aqil as a “crime” and “folly”. The group is part of Iran’s so called axis of resistance.
The axis comprises a group of violent proxies across Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Palestine, coordinated by Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign arm of the IRGC.
Aqil was involved in Hezbollah’s bombing of the US embassy in Beirut which killed 63 people in April 1983, according to the US State Department.
The assassination followed a series of suspected Israeli attacks earlier in the week that blew up Hezbollah’s radio and pager devices, killing 37 people and wounding at least 3,000 others.
Key Points
- Israel will 'pay price' for killing top commander, Hamas says
- Death toll from Beirut airstrike rises to 14
- Hezbollah fires 140 rockets at Israel
- Israel ‘destroys 100 rocket launchers’ in major airstrikes on southern Israel
- White House says video of IDF soldiers pushing bodies off rooftop is ‘disturbing’
Hezbollah confirms death of another top commander
08:16
Alexander Butler
Hezbollah has said a second senior commander, Ahmed Wahbi, was also killed in Israel’s strike on Beirut on Friday.
Wahbi oversaw the military operations of the Radwan special forces during the Gaza war until early 2024.
Hezbollah had earlier confirmed that its senior commander Ibrahim Aqil was killed in the strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israel will 'pay price' for killing top commander, Hamas says
07:36
Alexander Butler
Hamas has warned Israel will “pay the price” for killing a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
The group, based in Gaza, described the killing as a “crime” and “folly”. Hamas is part of Iran’s so called axis of resistance.
The “axis of resistance” comprises a group of violent proxies across Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Palestine, coordinated by Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign arm of the IRGC.
The Quds Force’s aim is to export Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution abroad. The US assassinated the former head of the Quds Force, Qassem Solemaini, in January 2020.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the most powerful group in the axis, boasts 100,000 fighters and has exchanged fire with Israeli forces in near daily exchanges since Hamas attacked Israel last year.
What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah
07:00
Holly Evans
This week saw a dizzying escalation in the 11-month-old conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
First came two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah — deadly attacks pinned on Israel that also maimed civilians around Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s leader vowed to retaliate, and on Friday the militant group launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel. Later in the day, Israel said it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s most elite unit with a strike in Beirut that left at least 14 dead.
Read the full article here:
Israeli pensioner arrested over Iran-backed plot to assassinate Netanyahu, security service says
06:00
Holly Evans
An Israeli man has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to assassinate prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other senior officials after being recruited by Iran, Israel’s internal security service has said.
The suspect – who was arrested in August – is a 73-year-old businessman with links to Turkey who had been smuggled into Iran for two meetings to discuss assassinating either Mr Netanyahu, defence minister Yoav Gallant or the head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, it was alleged in a joint statement from the Israeli police and Shin Bet.
The allegations date back to April, when when the Israeli man – named as Moti Maman – agreed to meet a wealthy businessman living in Iran for business purposes.
Read the full article here:
Netanyahu accuses UK of undermining Israel’s right to self-defence
05:00
Holly Evans
Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the UK government of “undermining” Israel’s right to self-defence.
Israel’s prime minister criticised the new Labour administration for suspending around 30 arms exports to the country amid concerns they could be used in violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict.
Sir Keir Starmer has also dropped the previous Conservative government’s plan to challenge the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) application for an arrest warrant against Mr Netanyahu.
Read the full article here:
US no longer expects Israel-Hamas ceasefire before Biden leaves office
04:00
Holly Evans
After nearly a year of conflict, senior US officials reportedly have lost hope that Israel and Hamas will reach a ceasefire deal before Joe Biden leaves office.
“No deal is imminent,” an unnamed official toldThe Wall Street Journal. “I’m not sure it ever gets done.”
“There’s no chance now of it happening,” another official, from an Arab country, added in the same report. “Everyone is in a wait-and-see mode until after the election. The outcome will determine what can happen in the next administration.”
Read the full article here:
Are our smartphones and devices safe?
03:00
Holly Evans
Pagers across Lebanon have exploded in what appears to be a highly advanced and unexpected deadly attack.
The particularly novel and surprising nature of the attack has led some to worry that it could represent a new front in warfare. And many have asked whether that might mean that all of our consumer devices could really be considered safe.
The simple answer is: yes, they are. There is nothing at all to indicate that the attacks suggest there is any danger to the smartphones and other technology that most people carry around every day.
Read the full article here:
Did Middle East device attack violate international law? Advocates want an investigation
02:00
Holly Evans
Human rights advocates are calling for an independent investigation into the deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon and Syria, suggesting the blasts may have violated international law if the devices were fashioned as booby traps.
The explosions that have been widely blamed on Israel killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000, including many members of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. Israel has not confirmed or denied involvement.
The United Nations human rights office and some advocacy groups have cried foul, arguing that the strikes were “indiscriminate” because it’s nearly impossible to know who was holding the devices, or where they were, when they went off. But some academics insist the explosions were precisely focused because the devices had been distributed to Hezbollah members.
Read the full article here:
Watch: Israel-Lebanon border as Hezbollah launches 140 rockets
01:00
Holly Evans
The Hezbollah pager attacks prove that Israel has no strategy for peace
Saturday 21 September 2024 00:00
Holly Evans
Paging devices used by Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and Syria exploded near-simultaneously on 17 September, leaving 12 dead and almost 3,000 injured. The following day later, walkie-talkies exploded all over Lebanon, killing 20 and injuring at least 400. Both attacks are widely assumed to be the work of Israel.
The scale of the attacks, as well as their theatrical nature, can be seen as a bid by Israel’s military and intelligence forces to repair their reputation, left in tatters following the 7 October Hamas attacks.
It could also represent an attempt by Israel to address the problem of its northern border. Visiting the area this week, I have seen the effects of the continual exchanges of rocket and missile attacks, which have led to 60,000 people being evacuated from Israeli towns. According to reports, Lebanese villages have also been evacuated as a result of the fighting.
Read the full article here:
Hamas mourn top Hezbollah commander
Friday 20 September 2024 23:39
Holly Evans
The Palestinian militant group Hamas have mourned Hezbollah’s top commander, Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital Beirut.
In a statement, they described it as a “crime” and “folly” that Israel will pay the price for.
UN urges states to use sway now over Israel, Hezbollah to avoid war
Friday 20 September 2024 23:24
Holly Evans
A top United Nations official has urged all countries with influence over Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “to leverage it now” to avoid an escalation of Middle East violence.
UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council after attacks in which Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands. The attacks were believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed or denied its involvement.
“We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,” DiCarlo told the 15-member council. “I also strongly urge member states with influence over the parties to leverage it now.”
What to know about the growing conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah
Friday 20 September 2024 23:00
Holly Evans
This week saw a dizzying escalation in the 11-month-old conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
First came two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah — deadly attacks pinned on Israel that also maimed civilians around Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s leader vowed to retaliate, and on Friday the militant group launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel. Later in the day, Israel said it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s most elite unit with a strike in Beirut that left at least 14 dead.
Read the full article here:
UN’s Palestinian office condemns ‘disrespectful’ treatment of bodies
Friday 20 September 2024 22:42
Holly Evans
The UN’s human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory has condemned footage showing what appeared to be bodies of Palestinians pushed by Israeli troops from a rooftop during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
Posting to X, they said the videos appeared to show soldiers kicking or throwing the deceased for bulldozers to clear them away.
“Unnecessary or disrespectful treatment of human remains is not consistent with the protection of the basic human dignity of the dead and could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of the deceased men’s families,” they said.
We condemn the desecration of the bodies of Palestinians by Israeli security forces yesterday, 19 Sept, in Qabatiya, Jenin. Videos show bodies being kicked and thrown off the roof for bulldozers to take them away. Unnecessary or disrespectful treatment of human remains is not…
— UN Human Rights Palestine (@OHCHR_Palestine) September 20, 2024
Hezbollah confirms death of top military commander
Friday 20 September 2024 22:22
Holly Evans
Hezbollah has announced the death of a top military official in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
An official had previously confirmed that Ibrahim Akil was supposed to be in the building in the Dahiya district that was hit.
Akil has served on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council, and has been sanctioned by the US for being involved in two terrorist attacks in 1983 that killed more than 300 people at the US Embassy in Beirut and the US Marine Corps barracks.
Death toll from Beirut airstrike rises to 14
Friday 20 September 2024 21:56
Holly Evans
The Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital killed at least 14 people and wounded nearly 60 others, according to Lebanese health officials, and flattened two apartment buildings.
The Israeli military also claimed that its strike killed other “top operatives” of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, without elaborating.
A Hezbollah official has confirmed that Akil was supposed to be in the building in the Dahiya district that was hit.
Israel claim Hezbollah commanders had been planning attack on northern border
Friday 20 September 2024 21:30
Holly Evans
The strike marked the second time in less than two months that Israel has targeted a leading Hezbollah military commander in Beirut. In July, an Israeli airstrike killed Fuad Shukr, the group’s top military commander.
Ibrahim Aqil had a $7 million bounty on his head from the United States over his link to the deadly bombing of Marines in Lebanon in 1983, according to the U.S. State Department website.
The Israeli military said Aqil had been head of Hezbollah operations since 2004 and was responsible for a plan to launch a raid on northern Israel, similar to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that triggered the war in Gaza.
“The Hezbollah commanders we eliminated today had been planning their October 7th on the northern border for years,” Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi said.
“We reached them, and we will reach anyone who threatens the security of Israel’s citizens.”
Lebanon strikes could ‘dwarf’ devastation seen so far, UN official says
Friday 20 September 2024 21:16
Holly Evans
A senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Friday that further violence between Israel and Iran-aligned groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon risked igniting a far more damaging conflict.
“We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,” UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the 15-member council, which met about attacks this week on Hezbollah.
“It is not too late to avoid such folly. There is still room for diplomacy,” she said. “I also strongly urge Member States with influence over the parties to leverage it now.”
Ceasefire deal hopes dampened by attacks in Lebanon
Friday 20 September 2024 21:00
Holly Evans
Since August, senior US officials including secretary of state Antony Blinken have raised expectations for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. It has previously been said that a deal was 90 per cent agreed and they were working to iron out the few but challenging disagreements.
But shifting demands from both Israel and Hamas have repeatedly spiked efforts to reach a deal to end the nearly year-long bloodshed and have been a source of deep frustration for Biden administration officials.
The odds of a quick resolution appeared even smaller after an unprecedented attack on Hezbollah this week in which pagers and radios used by its members exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands.
On Friday, Israel killed a top commander with the Iran-aligned Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah in an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“We don’t appear to be particularly close at the moment,” a senior administration official said.
What is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group hit in ‘double tap’ pager attacks?
Friday 20 September 2024 20:40
Holly Evans
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged intense rounds of rocket fire and airstrikes after the Lebanese militant group was targeted by an attack which caused their communication devices to explode.
In an unprecedented attack which killed at least 12 people and injured nearly 3,000 more, pagers used by the group were simultaneously detonated on Tuesday, sparking widespread panic in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
Founded in 1982 during Lebanon’s civil war, Hezbollah’s initial objective was ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. It achieved that in 2000.
Shiite Muslim Hezbollah is part of a collection of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the Axis of Resistance. It was the first group that Iran backed and used as a way to export its brand of political Islamism.
Read the full explainer here:
Lebanese people terrified of using their phones and laptops following deadly pager attacks
Friday 20 September 2024 20:20
Holly Evans
Lebanese residents are living in fear that their electronic devices could implode days after a suspected Israeli attack turned pagers and walkie-talkies into bombs.
Around 37 people were killed and thousands more wounded on Tuesday and Wednesday in the attacks which targeted Hezbollah militants but also led to deaths of children, doctors and civilians.
Residents are now terrified of their devices and fear there will be a third wave of attacks.
Ziad Tabbara, 61, who runs a boutique menswear shop told The Times: “Now we’re afraid of things that are not meant to scare us, like phones and laptops.”
Read the full article here:
Netanyahu says ‘our actions speak for themselves’
Friday 20 September 2024 20:00
Holly Evans
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has issued a short statement following an airstrike on Beirut that has killed a senior Hezbollah leader.
On social media, he said: “Our goals are clear, and our actions speak for themselves.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 20, 2024
Our goals are clear, and our actions speak for themselves.
White House says video of IDF soldiers pushing bodies off rooftop is ‘disturbing’
Friday 20 September 2024 19:46
Holly Evans
The White House has said the a video of Israeli soliders apparently pushing four lifeless bodies from a rooftop in the West Bank is “deeply disturbing”.
The video emerged following a raid, with the behaviour from IDF soliders in the town of Qabatiya seen as the latest in a series of suspected violations by Israeli forces since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Human rights groups say the videos provide fresh evidence of how Israel routinely uses excessive force against Palestinians.The Israeli military said in a statement that the incident would be reviewed and investigated, and “does not coincide with (its) values and the expectations from (its) soldiers.”
A White House spokesperson called it “deeply disturbing,” and said Israel has pledged to investigate.
Emergency workers rushed to find the missing after Beirut strike
Friday 20 September 2024 19:26
Holly Evans
After the strike in Beirut, local broadcasters showed groups of people gathered near the site, and reported they were searching for at least 10 people who had been in the vicinity and were still missing, most of them children.
Drones were still flying over Beirut’s southern suburb hours after the strike, which is believed to have been targeting a gathering of Hezbollah commanders.
“We are not afraid, but we want a solution. We cannot continue with the country like this,” said Alain Feghali, a resident of Beirut said. “War? I don’t know if it started or not, but nothing is reassuring. It is clear that the two sides will not stop.”
Hezbollah did not make any official statements on the strike, and did not immediately confirm that Aqil was targeted or killed.
The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine-Hennis Plasschaert, said Friday’s strike in a densely populated area of Beirut’s southern suburbs was part of “an extremely dangerous cycle of violence with devastating consequences. This must stop now.”
UN spokesperson say they are ‘very concerned’ about Beirut airstrike
Friday 20 September 2024 19:04
Holly Evans
The UN said it was “very concerned” after Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens.
A statement from Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general António Guterres, reads: “We are, of course, very concerned about the heightened escalation... including the deadly strikes we saw in Beirut today.
“We urge all parties to deescalate immediately. All must exercise maximum restraint.”
Lebanese financier pleads guilty to sanctions evasion, US says
Friday 20 September 2024 18:53
Holly Evans
A Lebanese-Belgian dual citizen accused by the United States of financing the armed group Hezbollah pleaded guilty on Friday in a criminal case charging him with sanctions evasion and money-laundering conspiracies, the Justice Department said.
Lawyers for Mohammad Bazzi told federal prosecutors in Brooklyn this month that he wanted to change his plea.
Bazzi, 60, pleaded not guilty last year to three felony counts, including attempting to transact with a sanctioned terrorist organization.
Israeli military have not yet elaborated on identities of other commanders
Friday 20 September 2024 18:39
Holly Evans
The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the strike on Beirut’s southern Dahiya district targeted and killed Ibrahim Akil, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, as well as 10 other Hezbollah operatives.
There was no immediate confirmation of Akil’s death from Hezbollah.The Israeli military did not elaborate on the identities of the other commanders allegedly killed in the strike on the crowded urban neighborhood.
Lebanese health officials said at least 12 people were killed and 66 others were wounded there. Nine of the wounded, they said, were in serious condition.
A Hezbollah official confirmed that Akil was supposed to be in the building that was hit but gave no further information. Akil has served on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council, and has been sanctioned by the United States for being involved in two terrorist attacks in 1983 that killed more than 300 people.
Israel’s defence minister says ‘new phase’ of war will continue
Friday 20 September 2024 18:17
Holly Evans
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday that Israel would continue its new phase of war following the assassination of senior Hezbollah commanders in Beirut.
“The sequence of actions in the new phase will continue until our goal is achieved: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” he said in a statement on the social media platform X.
סיימתי כעת הערכת מצב עם הרמטכ״ל ובכירי צה״ל לאור ההתפתחויות בגזרה הצפונית והפעולה הממוקדת לחיסול הצמרת המבצעית של חיזבאללה.
— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) September 20, 2024
גם בדאחייה בביירות - נמשיך ונרדוף את אויבנו כדי להגן על אזרחינו.
רצף הפעולות בשלב החדש יימשך עד להשגת מטרתנו: השבת תושבי הצפון לביתם בביטחון.
Top Hezbollah commander killed in Beirut airstrike, Israeli military says – fuelling fear of all-out war
Friday 20 September 2024 18:04
Holly Evans
Israel says it has killed a top Hezbollah commander in a strike on Beirut, fuelling fears of an all-out war on the Israeli-Lebanon border.
Israeli military said that Ibrahim Aqi Aqil, who served on Hezbollah’s top military body, was the acting commander of the group’s elite Radwan force and that he was killed along with around 10 other senior commanders of the unit.
The strike killed nine people and wounded 59 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said, in a preliminary toll – with the blast destroying multiple residential apartments.
Read the full article here:
Death toll rises to 12 in Beirut strike
Friday 20 September 2024 17:52
Holly Evans
The number of people killed in the Beirut strike has risen to 12, Lebanon’s health ministry have said.
There are now 66 people injured, nine of whom are in critical condition, it adds.
The IDF says it killed several senior Hezbollah figures, including top commander Ibrahim Aqil.
Biden says ‘we have to keep at it’ over Israeli ceasefire deal
Friday 20 September 2024 17:44
Holly Evans
Reaching a Gaza ceasefire deal is still realistic, US President Joe Biden said at the White House on Friday, telling reporters: “We have to keep at it.”
Asked about the impact of fighting elsewhere in the region, Biden also said: “We have to make sure that the people of northern Israel as well as southern Lebanon are able to get back to their homes, and get back safely.”
Israeli military say 10 other senior Hezbollah commanders killed
Friday 20 September 2024 17:27
Holly Evans
About 10 senior Hezbollah commanders were killed along with Ibrahim Aqil, the Israeli military have said.
The leader of the movement’s Radwan special forces unit was attacked in an Israeli air strike in Beirut on Friday.
“This elimination is intended to protect the citizens of Israel,” he said in a brief statement to the press, adding that Israel was not seeking regional escalation.
Iran’s embassy in Lebanese condemns Israeli ‘madness’
Friday 20 September 2024 17:20
Holly Evans
The Iranian embassy in Lebanon condemned Israel’s attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday as “Israeli madness that crossed all lines” by targeting residential buildings, it said in a post on X.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the strike shows Israel “gives no weight to any humanitarian, legal or moral considerations”.
IDF say they have killed senior Hezbollah commander
Friday 20 September 2024 17:03
Holly Evans
The Israeli military has said it killed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil.
“The IDF eliminated Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah’s operations system and the actual commander of the Radwan Force and the leader of Hezbollah’s plan to occupy the Galilee,” the military said in a statement.
בהכוונה מודיעינית מדוייקת של אגף המודיעין, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו באופן ממוקד במרחב ביירות וחיסלו את איברהים עקיל, ראש מערך המבצעים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, מפקדה בפועל של יחידת רדואן ומפקד "התוכנית לכיבוש הגליל".
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) September 20, 2024
בתקיפה חוסלו יחד עם עקיל צמרת מערך המבצעים ושרשרת הפיקוד של…
Americans strongly urged to leave Lebanon
Friday 20 September 2024 16:51
Holly Evans
Americans have been strongly urged to leave Lebanon after attacks were launched at it’s capital of Beirut, a White House national security spokesman has said.
John Kirby said Americans have also been told not to travel to the country.
Speaking to reporters, he reiterated that the Biden administration was trying to avoid an escalation in the region, and
He said he was not aware of any Israel notification to the US before its strike in Beirut earlier today.
Woman whose Hungarian company linked to pagers under secret service protection
Friday 20 September 2024 16:34
Holly Evans
The woman whose company was linked to thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria this week is under the protection of the Hungarian secret services, her mother told The Associated Press.
Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono has not appeared publicly since the deadly simultaneous attack that targeted Hezbollah on Tuesday, which has been widely blamed on Israel.
She is listed as the chief executive of Budapest-based BAC Consulting, which the Taiwanese trademark holder of the pagers said was responsible for the manufacture of the devices.
Her mother, Beatrix Barsony-Arcidiacono, said that her daughter had received unspecified threats and “is currently in a safe place protected by the Hungarian secret services”.
The “Hungarian secret services advised her not to talk to media” she said by phone from Sicily.
Today’s recap: Hezbollah targets Israel with 140 rockets
Friday 20 September 2024 16:21
Holly Evans
Earlier on Friday, Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets, as the region awaited the revenge promised by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In a speech, Nasrallah had warned of retaliation for this week’s mass bombing attack on pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members, which injured around 3,000 people. Hezbollah said that its attacks had targeted several Israeli miltiary sites along the border with Katyusha rockets, including multiple air defense bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade they said they’d struck for the first time.
The Israeli military said that 120 missiles were launched at areas of the Golan Heights, Safed and the Upper Galilee, some of which were intercepted. Fire crews were working to extinguish blazes caused by pieces of debris that fell to the ground in several areas, the military said. The military didn’t say whether any missiles had hit targets or caused any casualties.Another 20 missiles were shot at the areas of Meron and Netua, and most fell in open areas, the military said, adding that no injuries were reported.
Hezbollah commander killed in strike, reports say
Friday 20 September 2024 16:00
Alexander Butler
A top Hezbollah commander has reportedly been killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut just hours after the militia launched over 100 rockets at Israel.
Hezbollah’s operations commander Ibrahim Aqil was killed in the strike on southern Beirut on Friday afternoon, security sources said. Lebanese officials said eight were killed and 50 were injured in the attack.
Mr Aqil was involved in Hezbollah’s bombing of the US embassy in Beirut which killed 63 people in April 1983, according to the US State Department.
Pictured: Hezbollah chief Ibrahim Aqil
Friday 20 September 2024 15:38
Alexander Butler
The target of the strike was Hezbollah operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, according to two security sources.
Mr Aqil was involved in Hezbollah’s bombing of the US embassy in Beirut which killed 63 people in April 1983, the US State Department said.
He also over saw an attack on the US Marine Corps barracks seven months later which killed 231 US personnel.
In 2013, Washington put a $7million bounty on his head for any information leading to his location, arrest or conviction.
UK foreign secretary chairs emergency meeting
Friday 20 September 2024 15:16
Alexander Butler
UK foreign minister David Lammy has chaired an emergency meeting to discuss the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The Foreign Secretary has chaired a meeting of Cobr this morning on the latest situation in Lebanon and to discuss ongoing preparedness work, with the risk of escalation remaining high.”
Pictured: Rescuers recover body from rubble following Israeli strike
Friday 20 September 2024 15:12
Alexander Butler
Israel targets senior Hezbollah commander, reports say
Friday 20 September 2024 14:45
Alexander Butler
The target of the strike was Hezbollah operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, according to a security source cited by Israeli media.
Mr Aqil was involved in Hezbollah’s bombing of the US embassy in Beirut which killed 63 people in April 1983, according to the US State Department.
He also over saw an attack on the US Marine Corps barracks seven months later which killed 231 US personnel.
In 2013, Washington put a $7million bounty on his head for any information leading to his location, arrest or conviction.
Israeli strike targeted a senior Hezbollah figure, security sources say
Friday 20 September 2024 14:26
Alexander Butler
An Israeli strike targeted a senior Hezbollah figure, two security sources said. The sources could not immediately say who was targeted or if they had been killed.
Israel strikes Beirut in targeted attack
Friday 20 September 2024 14:11
Alexander Butler
Israeli forces have carried out a targeted strike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut just hours after Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets into Israel.
The Israeli military did not provide any more information. The strike came after Hezbollah fired between 140 and 150 rockets over the Lebanese border into Israel.
Overnight, the Israeli military attacked at least 100 Hezbollah rocket launcher sites in southern Lebanon as Beirut warned the conflict was out of control.
Watch live from Israel-Lebanon border as Hezbollah launches 140 rockets
Friday 20 September 2024 14:05
Alexander Butler
Israel’s president says nation does not want war but is entitled to security
Friday 20 September 2024 13:59
Alexander Butler
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his country did not want war but was entitled to live in security and tranquility.
Mr Herzog wrote on X: “We did not