Israel’s relentless aerial assault on Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah, shows no signs of abating. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a stark warning to the Lebanese people, urged them to “stay out of harm’s way.” On X (formerly Twitter), he declared, “We will continue striking Hezbollah. Anyone who has a missile in their living room and a rocket in their garage will not have a home.” The airstrikes have demonstrably hit the heart of Hezbollah, eliminating top commanders. The latest casualty is Ibrahim Qubaisi, killed in a strike on September 24th that targeted a six-storey residential building in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) identified Qubaisi as the chief of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile division, stating that “over the years and during the war, he was responsible for the launches at the Israeli home front. Qubaisi was a central source of knowledge in the field of missiles, and was close to the senior military leadership of Hezbollah.” The IDF alleges Qubaisi joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and served in numerous roles, including head of the Badr regional division, and that he was responsible for planning the 2000 kidnapping attack on Mount Dov, which resulted in the deaths of three IDF soldiers. Ynet News reports that Qubaisi had recently been appointed to report directly to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
The IDF’s aerial campaign also targeted Hezbollah’s southern front commander, Ali Karaki, on September 24th. Karaki, a member of Hezbollah’s top military body, the Jihad Council, was reported killed in the strike. However, Hezbollah claimed the assassination attempt failed and Karaki was safely relocated.
Just days after pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon, Israel struck a Beirut residential area on September 22nd, killing two top Hezbollah military commanders, Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi. Aqil, a senior leader in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, was the second-in-command of the group’s armed forces. He was wanted by the US for his alleged role in the 1983 bombings of the US embassy in Beirut and the US Marine Corps barracks, which claimed a combined total of 284 lives. The US State Department had offered a $7 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. The IDF claimed that Aqil “had the blood of many innocent people on his hands— Israelis, Americans, French, Lebanese, and more.” Wahbi was the head of Hezbollah’s training unit and a former commander of the Radwan Force.
Prior to the recent attacks, in July, Israel targeted Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander and a founding member of the group. Shukr was known for his role in obtaining advanced weaponry for Hezbollah, including “precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs.” He was also wanted by the US for his alleged involvement in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 US military personnel, earning him a $5 million US bounty.
Israel has also claimed the deaths of other Hezbollah commanders, including Taleb Abdullah, commander of the Nasr regional division; Mohammad Nasser, commander of the Aziz regional division; and Wissam al-Tawil, deputy head of the Radwan Force, who was killed in a strike on January 8th.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, marked by targeted strikes and the deaths of high-ranking commanders, raises significant concerns about regional instability and the potential for further escalation.
