Israel said it carried out a targeted strike in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut and killed several top Hezbollah figures.
Among them was Ibrahim Aqil, who commanded Hezbollah’s operations unit and the elite special forces unit the Radwan Force.
Aqil is accused of planning several deadly attacks against Israel, and he had a $7 million bounty on his head from the U.S. for bombings that killed hundreds in 1983 at the American embassy and a Marines barracks in Beirut.
Aqil “had large amounts of blood on his hands” and “was responsible for the deaths of many innocent civilians,” said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
The Israeli strikes Friday came shortly after Hezbollah fired some rockets at Israel, which did not appear to cause any major damage.
Israel has increased its operations against Hezbollah this week, killing at least 37 and wounding thousands of others after exploding pagers and handheld radios in Lebanon. Israel has not publicly commented on those attacks.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed revenge for the pager and radio attacks.
The escalation this week comes as Israel has set a war goal of returning the some 60,000 residents who have been displaced by the 11-month conflict with Hezbollah at the border that is tied to the Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a post on X that Israel has entered a “new phase” with Hezbollah that will ensure they can return residents back home.
“Our goals are clear, and our actions speak for themselves,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added in a post on his account.
But the U.S. has been pushing for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, even as that has grown more difficult in the wake of a Gaza deal that appears to be out of reach.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday the U.S. does not “want to see escalation” in Lebanon.
““Everything we’re doing is going to be involved in trying to amend that outcome,” he said.
