Severe blow: IDF airstrike takes out Hezbollah high command member, most of elite 'Radwan' unit's command staff

Israel Defense Forces on Saturday confirmed that an airstrike in the Lebanese capital Beirut the preceding evening had killed two of Hezbollah’s most senior commanders, as well as most of the command staff of its elite Radwan Unit.

The strike late on Friday targeted a meeting of the Radwan commanders, headed by the unit’s chief and head of Hezbollah’s Operations Directorate, Ibrahim Aqil, as well as Ahmad Wahbi, who commanded the unit in the past and now served as its head of training and manpower development.

We eliminated Ibrahim Aqil earlier today in a precise strike in Beirut, Lebanon.

At the time of the strike, Ibrahim Aqil, and the approx. 10 Radwan commanders who were eliminated with him, gathered underground—under a residential building in the heart of the Dahiyah… pic.twitter.com/qtCay6M5fc

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) September 20, 2024

“The Hezbollah commanders we eliminated today planned an ‘October 7’ on the northern border for years. We reached them and we will reach anyone who threatens the security of the citizens of the State of Israel,” said IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

“Aqil and the commanders who were killed in the attack were responsible for planning, advancing and executing hundreds of terror plots against the State of Israel, including planning the murderous plan of the Hezbollah terrorist organization to raid the Galilee settlements,” the IDF stated.

Hezbollah confirmed that the commanders were killed, highlighting their significance to the terror group's chain of command by adding honorific titles to their names.

16 Hezbollah terrorist, were eliminated in yesterday’s strike, including Ibrahim Aqil.

12 of these terrorists made up the top of Hezbollah’s leadership, they were advancing terror attacks against Israelis and the deadly plan to “Conquer the Galilee” where Hezbollah would… pic.twitter.com/rVadHWGwOF

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) September 21, 2024

Aqil was dubbed “the great jihadi commander,” while Wahbi was described as a “martyr commander.”

The only other eliminated commander who had merited Aqil’s title so far was Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut at the end of August.

Wahbi’s title, “martyr commander,” was previously attributed only to Sami Taleb Abdallah and Muhammad Nasr, who had respectively commanded the terror group’s South Lebanon eastern and western divisions; as well as Wissam Tawil, who was the Radwan Unit’s deputy commander.

This is Hezbollah's Jihad Council - Hezbollah's Chief of Staff. Ibrahim Aqil is third from the right (next to the photo of Fuad Shakar who was eliminated on July 30th- second from the right). Ibrahim Aqil was among those responsible for the attack on the US Embassy in Beirut in… pic.twitter.com/y60jYvxPSG

— Israel-Alma (@IsraelAlmaorg) September 20, 2024

Like Shukr, Aqil was a member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, which includes the group’s senior military leadership. Two out of seven of its members have been eliminated in Israeli strikes so far.

Additionally, Aqil was wanted by the U.S., with a reward of up to $7 million for his involvement in the 1983 U.S. embassy attack in Beirut, which killed 63 people, and the attack on the Marine base later that year, which killed 241 U.S. servicemen.

Upon confirmation of Aqil's death, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) called him a "vicious terrorist mastermind who helped murder hundreds of Americans. On behalf of the families of the Marines killed in the Beirut bombings—and on behalf of all Americans—I’m grateful justice has finally been served to this killer."

Well, it took 40 years but we finally got some new photos of top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil.

Aqil, a US designated global terrorist who had a $7 million bounty on his capture, was killed earlier today in an Israeli airstrike.

Aqil had the blood of hundreds of Americans… pic.twitter.com/3uMA04Q4H7

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 20, 2024

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he was worried about the growing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah but called Aqil's death a "good outcome."

White House Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk, said nobody was "shedding a tear" at Aqil's death, while also expressing his worry about the escalation.

“That said, we have disagreements with the Israelis on tactics and how you kind of measure escalation risk. It is a very concerning situation. I’m very confident that through diplomacy, through deterrence and other means we’ll work our way out of it,” McGurk stated.

The IDF reported that 16 terrorists were killed in the strike targeting their meeting location under an apartment building in Beirut’s Dahiyeh District.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said 31 people were killed in the strike, including 3 children and 7 women. Health Minister Firas Abiad added that 68 other people were wounded.

Israeli experts described the elimination of Wahbi as an achievement in its own right. Wahbi was a veteran terrorist who had served in a variety of posts in the past, including commanding the Radwan Unit until recently. According to the IDF, he was among the creators of a plan to conquer the Galilee in a future conflict with Israel, and was responsible for numerous infiltration attempts and rocket launches into Israel in recent months.

Five of the unit’s regional commanders and two senior staff officers were killed as well. According to Hezbollah, most of them were veteran terrorists with decades of experience, highlighting the severity of the impact on the terror group.

Since the start of the fighting, which was initiated by Hezbollah in support of Hamas on Oct. 8 of last year, the terror group has lost over 500 operatives.

In addition, Israeli strikes have eliminatd over 100 operatives of allied groups that joined Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel, such as Hamas’ Lebanon branch, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Amal and other.