Israel confirms killing of Hezbollah’s second-in-command
Ibrahim Aqil, the second-in-command of Hezbollah, has been killed in a “targeted” airstrike in Beirut, Israel’s military confirmed.
He was killed alongside ten senior commanders in the Lebanese militant group’s elite Radwan force on Friday afternoon, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
Lebanese authorities reported that at least 12 were killed and 59 injured.
Hezbollah has not officially announced the death of Aqil, who had been wanted by the US for over four decades with a $7m bounty on his head over his involvement in the bombing of the US embassy in Beirut.
The assassination came on an intense day of fighting between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah, who launched 140 Soviet-era Katyusha rockets across its border into northern Israel.
Earlier on Friday, the Israeli military said it destroyed at least 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers in one of its most intense bombardments of Lebanon since October.
Fears of a wider regional conflict have been growing after 37 people were killed and thousands more injured in a series of pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
05:49 PM BST
That’s all for today
Thank you for following our live coverage as Israel struck a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut.
We will be back soon with more updates and analysis on the ongoing conflict.
Here’s a quick recap of today’s events:
Israeli confirms death of Ibrahim Aqil and other ‘top commanders’
At least 12 dead and 59 injured, Lebanese officials say
‘I heard planes in the sky before the explosions,’ says eyewitness
IDF confirms 140 rockets were launched from Lebanon on Friday
Hezbollah hit children’s playground, says IDF
Israeli forces kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza Strip
Pager explosions could have been planned for ‘15 years’
Read more:
05:31 PM BST
IDF chief: Hezbollah commanders killed in strike were planning ‘their Oct 7’
The chief of the IDF, Herzi Halevi, said the Hezbollah commanders killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut had been planning an attack that would rival Oct 7.
“The Hezbollah commanders we eliminated today had been planning their ‘October 7th’ on the northern border for years. We reached them, and we will reach anyone who threatens the security of Israel’s citizens,” he said in a statement.
05:15 PM BST
Israel shows it can strike Hezbollah at every level - analysis
The reported killing of Ibrahim Aqil, identified as Hezbollah’s commander in charge of special operations, marks a return to a more conventional form of Israeli military action after this week’s double wave of synchronised sabotage attacks on the movement’s hand-held devices.
That does not make it any less potent tactically, however. Blowing up the pagers and walkie talkie radios used by Hezbollah fighters brought death, disruption and consternation to the movement’s rank-and-file - but spared senior commanders who did not use the devices.
This afternoon’s airstrike targeted the top level of Hezbollah’s command and control structure and comes less than two months after the assassination of Fuad Shukr, who, like Aqil, sat on the Jihad Council that runs the movement’s military wing.
Other senior military figures in Aqil’s Radwan Brigades, a special forces unit with a stated aim of infiltrating northern Israel, may also have been killed.
There is no doubt that this is therefore another startling Israeli intelligence success story, demonstrating Israel’s ability to strike Hezbollah at every level.
It is also worth bearing in mind that Shukr and Aqil eluded the United States for decades. Both were instrumental in orchestrating the attacks on the US embassy and a Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing more than 250 Americans.
So there is no doubting Israel’s military might. Questions about whether these individual successes constitute an effective strategy, either to force Hezbollah to climb down or to pave the way for a negotiated settlement, will continue to persist, however.
04:59 PM BST
IDF confirms Ibrahim Aqil killed
The Israeli military confirmed on Friday that it had killed top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil and other senior commanders of the movement’s Radwan special forces unit, in a strike in southern Beirut.
Hezbollah has not officially confirmed it.
04:28 PM BST
Target of strike was Ibrahim Aqil - senior Israeli official
A senior Israeli official told Telegraph that the target of the strike was the second highest ranking member of Hezbollah, which was Ibrahim Aqil.
04:24 PM BST
Members of elite Radwan unit ‘also killed in strike’
Members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, led by Ibrahim Aqil, are also believed to have been killed in the Israeli strike in Beirut as they were holding a meeting, two security sources told Reuters.
04:16 PM BST
Pictured: Rescuers look for bodies in aftermath of Beirut strike
04:12 PM BST
Hezbollah claims strike on Israeli base responsible ‘assassinations’
Hezbollah said it launched rockets at a north Israel intelligence base it blamed for targeted killings, claiming its first attack after Israel launched a deadly strike on the group’s south Beirut stronghold.
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”, adding the attack was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks” on south Lebanon.
There has been no immediate response from Israel.
03:44 PM BST
Who is Ibrahim Aqil?
Ibrahim Aqil, a top Hezbollah commander, is believed to have been killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut on Friday.
The militant leader, who is said to be in his 60s, became second-in-command to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, following the high-profile assassination of Fuad Shukr in Beirut in July.
Aqil is also the head of the Iran-backed militia’s group’s elite “Radwan” unit and sits on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council.
He has also been wanted in the US for decades over his role in the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people and the bombing of a US Marines barracks in the capital a few months later that killed 241 US personnel.
Throughout the 1980s, Aqil is also accused of taking US and German hostages in Lebanon.
03:43 PM BST
At least 8 killed, 59 injured - Lebanese officials
At least eight were killed and 59 injured in the airstrike, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Eight of those wounded are in a critical condition, it added.
03:28 PM BST
Eyewitness’ account of Beirut air strike
Journalists are being prevented from getting close to the site of the blast in southern Beirut but we were able to speak to one person who witnessed the blast and saw some of the wounded being carried out of the gutted building in the aftermath.
The man, who asked not to be identified, was riding his motorcycle down Jamous Street, a shop-lined thoroughfare near the scene of the attack.
“I heard planes in the sky before the explosions,” the man said. “It wasn’t a drone as some are saying. There were a total of four explosions. It was very hard to see what was going on because there was so much smoke.”
“Immediately people started to close the road. Some people got off their motorcycles and rushed in to help and I saw them bringing several wounded people out.”
03:26 PM BST
Lebanon’s PM: Israel has ‘no moral or legal considerations’
Israel gives no weight to “humanitarian, legal or moral considerations”, Lebanon’s prime minister said after the IDF carried out a “targeted strike” in Beirut on Friday.
It was the first statement from Najib Mikati after three people were killed and 17 injured in the strike, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
03:24 PM BST
More rockets fired at Israel after Beirut strike
Another volley of rockets were fired at northern Israel after the IDF’s strike on Beirut.
Around 15 to 20 Iron Dome interceptions took place.
It comes after Hezbollah fired 150 rockets at northern Israel earlier on Friday in seven separate attacks.
03:14 PM BST
White House: US not informed about Beirut strike
The White House was not informed about Israel’s “targeted strike” on Beirut, John Kirby, Washington’s national security spokesperson, has said.
“I’m not aware of any prenotification of those strikes,” Mr Kirby said, “that is not atypical.”
It is understood US officials were briefed immediately after the strike.
03:13 PM BST
Pictured: aftermath of IDF strike
Local residents gather at the scene of the IDF’s attack in Beirut, which landed near an apartment building in the capital city’s southern suburbs.
03:06 PM BST
Hezbollah target ‘killed’ in strike was army’s second-in-command
The IDF’s air strike on Beirut killed Ibrahim Aqil, who was Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit chief , the army’s second-in-command behind Fuad Shukr, AfP reported.
02:49 PM BST
Three killed in strike on Beirut, says health ministry
Lebanon’s health ministry said three people were killed and 17 were injured in the IDF’s strike on Beirut.
02:41 PM BST
Pictured: senior Hezbollah commander targeted in IDF strike
Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s operations commander, was targeted in the IDF’s strike.
02:33 PM BST
Pictured: apartment block hit in Israeli air strike
02:31 PM BST
Watch: aftermath of Israeli air strike in Beirut
Residents can be seen frantically pacing outside a residential apartment block after Israel launched an air strike on Beirut.
02:28 PM BST
IDF target named as senior Hezbollah commander
One of the targets in Israel’s strike on Beirut was Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s operations commander.
He is wanted by the US for his involvement in the bombings of the US embassy and marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, Axios’ Barak Ravid reported.
Aqil sits on the Jihad council, the terror group’s top military body.
02:24 PM BST
Casualties reported in Beirut strike
People were killed and wounded in Israel’s strike in southern Beirut, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported.
It is not clear how people were killed or injured.
02:16 PM BST
Senior Hezbollah figure targeted in IDF strike
Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs targeted a senior Hezbollah figure, two security sources have said.
The sources could not immediately say who was targeted or if they had been killed.
02:13 PM BST
Pictured: aftermath of IDF’s ‘targeted strike’ in Beirut
02:08 PM BST
Israeli air strike hits ‘Hezbollah stronghold’
An Israeli air strike hit Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold in Dahiyeh on Friday, a security official said.
“Israel conducted an air strike on the Beirut southern suburbs near Al-Qaem mosque,” the security official told AFP.
01:57 PM BST
Israeli air strike hits southern suburbs
A thick cloud of smoke could be seen rising over the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, according to a Reuters live feed, after residents in the southern suburbs of the city said they heard a loud blast.
The IDF confirmed it carried out a “targeted strike” in the capital city without providing any further details.
01:45 PM BST
In pictures: firefighter tackles blaze after rocket hits Golan Heights
01:27 PM BST
IDF confirms waves of rocket attacks from Lebanon
The IDF has confirmed 140 rockets were launched from Lebanon on Friday.
Its statement read:
Following the sirens that sounded over the past few hours in the areas of the Golan Heights, Safed and the Upper Galilee, approximately 120 launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
The IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted some of the launches. Fallen projectiles and fallen shrapnel from the interceptions were identified in several areas.
Fire and Rescue Services are currently operating to extinguish fires that were caused by fallen projectiles in several areas. Following the sirens that sounded in the areas of Meiron and Netua, approximately 20 launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Most fell in open areas. No injuries were reported.
01:21 PM BST
Hezbollah launches seven separate attacks on Israel
Hezbollah said it launched seven separate attacks on Israeli targets with Katyusha rockets.
The IDF previously said 140 rockets were fired at Israel. There were no reported casualties.
01:00 PM BST
Watch: Moment Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel
12:52 PM BST
Hezbollah handed out pagers ‘hours’ before attack - even after checks
Lebanon’s Hezbollah was still handing its members new pagers hours before thousands blew up this week even after checks, two security sources told Reuters.
The reports indicate the militant group was confident the devices were safe despite an ongoing sweep of electronic kit to identify threats.
One member of the Iranian-backed group received a new pager on Monday that exploded the next day while it was still in its box, said one of the sources.
A pager given to a senior member just days earlier injured a subordinate when it detonated, the second source said.
12:28 PM BST
Hezbollah rockets hit children’s playground, says IDF
The IDF has said Hezbollah rockets launched at northern Israel on Friday landed in a children’s playground.
“This is the result of one of Hezbollah’s indiscriminate missile and rocket launches at Israel. This time, they hit a children’s playground,” the IDF said.
It comes as the IDF said another 20 rockets were fired at Israel, bringing the daily total to 150.
When you see sirens sounding alerts, picture this.
This is the result of one of Hezbollah's indiscriminate missile and rocket launches at Israel. This time, they hit a children's playground. pic.twitter.com/DJJwAhnORA— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 20, 2024
12:00 PM BST
Hezbollah fires 130 rockets at Israel
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said at least 130 rockets were launched by Hezbollah at northern Israel in the last hour.
There are no reports of injuries.
11:42 AM BST
Israel intercepts barrage of rockets - reports
🚨 Safed, northern Israel. pic.twitter.com/QliRtsNOIZ
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) September 20, 2024
11:21 AM BST
Israel kills senior Iraqi Hezbollah commander in Syria strike
Israel killed a senior commander from Iraq’s Hezbollah brigade in a strike targeting pro-Iran factions in Syria.
Abu Haidar al-Khafaji was killed in the strike, which occurred around 10km (six miles) from Damascus airport, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The latest raid comes amid heightened regional tensions after nearly a year of war in the Gaza Strip.
11:15 AM BST
Air alerts ring out in northern Israel
Air alerts have been heard ringing out in parts of northern Israel, warning of rocket fire from Lebanon.
The alerts have been activated in the city of Safed, nearby towns in the Galilee, and Ortal in the northern Golan Heights.
11:12 AM BST
Foreign Secretary chairs Cobra meeting
David Lammy, the Foreign Sercetary, held an emergency Cobra meeting on Friday to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East, Sky News reported.
Mr Lammy met with senior Foreign Office officials after a wave of pager and walkie-talkie blasts killed dozens in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The evacuation of Britons was discussed, it is understood.
10:56 AM BST
IDF calls on civilians in north to stay near bomb shelters
The IDF has again called on civilians in communities in northern Israel to stay close to bomb shelters until further notice.
The guidelines apply to people in the Merom HaGalil Regional Council, Upper Galilee Regional Council, Mevo’ot HaHermon Regional Council, Metula, Kiryat Shmona, Yesud HaMa’ala, Hatzor, Rosh Pina, Safed, Metula, and towns in the Golan Heights from Katzrin and northward.
As was the case on Thusday, Israelis have been urged to limit time outside, avoid large gatherings, and remain close to shelters.
10:35 AM BST
Israel launches fresh wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon - report
Israel has carried out a new wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese state media.
Strikes have been reported in Mays al-Jabal, Aitaroun, and Kafr Kila.
10:03 AM BST
Israeli forces kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza Strip
Israeli forces killed at least 14 Palestinians in tank and air strikes on north and central areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday, local authorities have said.
It came as tanks advanced further into northwest Rafah near the border with Egypt.
Fighting between the IDF and Hamas has continued in Gaza as the intensifying conflict with Hezbollah near the southern Lebanon border runs parallel.
09:38 AM BST
Pentagon fears Lebanon ground war
Pentagon officials fear a ground war is about to erupt between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, US media reported.
Even before a wave of deadly pager and walkie-talkie explosions occurred this week, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, told Pentagon officials that a ground war was possible, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“I am very concerned about this spiraling out of control,” a senior defense official said.
09:14 AM BST
Regional war would be ‘doomsday’ for Lebanon
A wider regional conflict in the Middle East would represent “doomsday” for Lebanon, the country’s ambassador to the UK has warned.
Speaking to the Times, Rami Mortada said Lebanon is working “tirelessly” to avoid the conflict but warned it would not be the only country to suffer.
A war would “definitely [be] a doomsday for Lebanon but Lebanon will not hurt alone in this war,” according to Mr Mortada.
He added: “That’s what recent history taught us. So all efforts should be focused on avoiding such an outcome.”
08:56 AM BST
No pagers made here, says Bulgaria
Bulgaria’s state security agency said no pagers used in the attacks in Lebanon this week were imported to, from, or made in the country.
An investigation was launched on Thursday into a Bulgarian company’s possible link to the sale of pagers to Hezbollah.
08:30 AM BST
Analysis: Israel avoids crossing threshold into all-out war
Israel’s large-scale attack last night, which destroyed 100 rocket launchers, tells us two things;
Firstly, Hezbollah was about to fire some 1,000 rockets at Israel, according to the IDF, which would have been a massive escalation and likely resulted in a lot of casualties.
But secondly, Israel is not ready for a major escalation - yet.
Israel is only ramping up its attack and pressure on Hezbollah, not crossing the threshold into full-scale war.
Israel has declared a “new phase” in the conflict with Hezbollah, clearly focusing its military efforts on the northern border as it tried to force the terror group to cease hostilities.
We can expect many more attacks like last night’s as long as the conflict with Hezbollah isn’t solved.
When Israel flew fighter jets over Beirut as Hassan Nasrallah was speaking to the people of Lebanon, Prime Minister Netanyahu sent a warning to him and Hezbollah: “Dir balak” which means “watch out” in Arabic.
08:12 AM BST
Watch: Israel launches airstrikes in Lebanon
08:06 AM BST
Israeli military to hold ‘training’ in northern Israel
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it will carry out “training activities” in the north of Israel over the weekend.
The IDF warned that “gunshots and explosions” may be heard in the areas, which are prohibited for members of the public.
07:41 AM BST
Pager explosions ‘likely planned for 15 years’
The wave of deadly pager and walkie-talkie attacks across Lebanon this week may have been planned as long as 15 years ago, a US intelligence official has told ABC News.
The process of carrying out such attacks would have required a lengthy process to set up shell companies that allowed agents to insert themselves into the supply chain, the official said.
Some of those involved may not have been aware they were working under Israeli intelligence, the official added.
07:33 AM BST
Israel lifts restrictions on communities in the north
Israel has lifted orders which restricted movement on Thursday night for a number of communities in the north of the country and the Golan Heights.
The restrictions were ordered after the start of an intense wave of Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday afternoon.
07:27 AM BST
Middle East headlines
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the escalating crisis in the Middle East. Here’s what you need to know:
Israel launched a series of massive airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight
Israel separately struck southern Lebanon at least 52 times, according to the Lebanese state-run news agency
The strikes came after Israel declared a “new phase of war” in the north near its border with Lebanon
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, vowed to return thousands of displaced residents to their homes in the north, which has been at the centre of tit-for-tat strikes with Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group
Israel is yet to comment on claims that it was behind a wave of pager and walkie-talkie explosions which killed at least 37 people and injured thousands across Lebanon and parts of Syria on Tuesday and Wednesday