U.S. Embassy in Beirut

People and first responders gather at the scene of an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs on Sept. 20, 2024.

Israel said Friday that it killed the commander of Hezbollah's elite unit in a strike that Lebanese officials said left 14 dead and dozens wounded in the movement's Beirut stronghold.

Israel is escalating its attacks against Hezbollah, with the international community concerned about the Lebanese organization following the assassination of

The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) announced that Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s operations group, was killed in an airstrike. They also stated that 10 members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit, who were planning an operation akin to the events of “October 7th” in northern Israel, were also killed.

In their official statement, the IDF said:

News agencies such as Agence France-Presse, Sky News, and Reuters report that Aqil died in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strike, although Hezbollah has not officially confirmed this. Reuters also noted that other members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit were killed in the same attack.

Hezbollah announced early Sunday morning that it launched about 50 rockets from southern Lebanon at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and in retaliation for recent Israeli attacks in the southern part of the country.

According to initial reports, the rockets were intercepted in the sky by Israel’s air defense system, the Iron Dome.