Israel strikes Lebanon capital Beirut to annihilate Hezbollah's operations commander

Israel conducted a high-precision strike on Beirut. According to Al Jazeera and Al Mayadeen, explosions took place in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Dahiyeh. The missile strike was allegedly carried out by drones.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported a precision strike on Beirut. The IDF Spokesperson's Office said that the operation did not imply any change in instructions from the Home Front Command.

Al Jazeera reports that smoke is rising over the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Dahiyeh, where facilities of the Shiite group Hezbollah are allegedly located. Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen reports that explosions occurred in the southern suburb of the capital.

Israel kills Hezbollah's Ibrahim Akil

Ibrahim Akil, the operations commander and one of the key leaders of the group, was said to be the target of the Israeli strike, Israel Army Radio reports. The US government had offered a $7 million reward for information about his whereabouts. According to Washington, Akil was involved in the hostage-taking crisis in Lebanon, when American citizens were among the hostages. He also participated in the organisation of the attack to explode the US embassy in Beirut in the 1980s.

• Three people were killed and 17 were injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
• Hezbollah member Ibrahim Aqil killed, Saudi TV channel Al Hadath said with reference to sources in the group.

The situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border escalated after pagers, radios and other portable devices belonging to Hezbollah members exploded in various parts of Lebanon, including Beirut, on September 17-18. Israel did not officially comment on its involvement in the attack. Shortly after the explosions, the Israeli military-political cabinet of the government authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant to make decisions on military action against Hezbollah, including those that could lead to a full-scale war. Galant also announced the beginning of a new phase of the war.

The IDF and Hezbollah have been exchanging strikes in border areas since September 19. The Israeli army reported the destruction of about 100 Hezbollah launchers and facilities in one day. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called the pager explosions an act of terrorism and a declaration of war.

On July 30, the IDF also struck a southern suburb of Beirut, killing one of Hezbollah's most senior operatives, Fuad Shukr. The operation came in response to the group's missile attack on a soccer field in the town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, which killed 12 Druze children.

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Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As of 2014, Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region and the thirteenth-largest in the Arab world. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with many banks and corporations based in the city. Beirut is an important seaport for the country and region, and rated a Beta + World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Beirut was severely damaged by the Lebanese Civil War, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the 2020 massive explosion in the Port of Beirut. Its architectural and demographic structure underwent major change in recent decades.

Dahieh  is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb in the south of Beirut, in the Baabda District of Lebanon. It has a minority of Sunni Muslims, Christians, and a Palestinian refugee camp with 20,000 inhabitants. It is a residential and commercial area with malls, stores and souks, and comprises several towns and municipalities. It is north of Rafic Hariri International Airport, and the M51 Freeway that links Beirut to the airport passes through it. Dahieh is the Beirut stronghold of Shia militant group Hezbollah, and it had large auditoria in Haret Hreik, Hadath, Mount Lebanon and Bourj el-Barajneh, where Hezbollah followers gathered on special occasions. The area was severely bombed by Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War, and the Israeli policy of purposefully maximizing destruction of civilian infrastructure has since been known as the Dahiya doctrine.