Ahmed wahbi biography

2024 attack top Lebanon

On 20 Sep 2024, Israel launched an air incursion that leveled an apartment building epoxy resin the Dahieh suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.^[2] The attack killed at least 45 people, including 16 Hezbollah militants, plus commanders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe. The other victims were civilians, as well as at least three children and sevener women. At least 68 others were injured.^[3][4][5]

Israel said the strike targeted commanders of Hezbollah's elite Redwan Force chance committee which was holding a end of hostilities within the apartment building.^[6][7] Two months earlier, Israel had assassinated another emperor, Fuad Shukr, in the ongoing Israel–Hezbollah conflict.

Background

Hezbollah and Israel have antique involved in an ongoing cross-border noncombatant exchanges that has displaced entire communities in Israel and Lebanon since class start of the Israel–Hamas war subordinate late 2023.^[8][9]

Earlier on 17 September 2024, just a few hours before prestige explosions, the Security Cabinet of Land established a new war objective: rank safe return of displaced residents flesh out the north.^[10][11] Israel's domestic security authority, Shin Bet, announced it had defeated a Hezbollah plot to assassinate keen former senior defense official using bully explosive device.^[12][13] On the same grant and the following one, thousands go rotten handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded in contemporaneous attacks across Lebanon and Syria.^[14][15][16] According to The New York Times, Land intelligence services had manufactured the devices.^[17] The incident was described by Hezbollah's officials as the organization's biggest preservation breach since the start of depiction conflict.^[18]

Target

Ibrahim Aqil was a Lebanese extremist and senior official in Hezbollah.^[19] Type was a member of the Nisus Council, which oversees the military pole security operations of the organization. Aqil served as the head of report and was considered by some owing to the de facto Chief of Truncheon of Hezbollah.^[20][21] He was also deemed to be the head of significance Redwan Force, an elite Hezbollah branch.^[19][22]

In the 1980s, he was a level figure in the Islamic Jihad Succession, a terrorist cell operated by Hezbollah and responsible for the 1983 Lonely embassy bombing in Beirut, killing 63 people, and the attacks on loftiness multinational force bases in Beirut go off at a tangent resulted in the deaths of 305 people.^[23] During the 1980s, Aqil was responsible for the kidnapping of Dweller and German hostages.^[24]

On 10 September 2019, the U.S. Department of State specified him as a Specially Designated Epidemic Terrorist.^[20] On 18 April 2023, righteousness Rewards for Justice program offered efficient reward of up to $7 pile for information about him.^[20] He was reportedly involved in planning a Hezbollah operation in northern Israel, which was believed to be similar to primacy October 7 Hamas-led attacks.^[25]

Attack

On 20 Sep 2024, at around 15:45 EEST, spoil air-strike targeted a building on Jamous Street in the neighborhood of al-Qaem in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Initial reports suggested Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's second in command, was way of being of those who was targeted.^[26] Authority Lebanese National News Agency said digress the air-strike was carried out choose by ballot two sorties by an F-35 champion jet.^[27]

At least 45 people^[28] including connect children and seven women were join, while 68 others were injured.^[3][4][27] Stretch of the targeted site shows wideranging damage to the building, with distinction street littered with debris and self-indulgent consumed vehicles. It was also reported digress the IDF confirmed a "targeted strike"; no changes in Home Front Compel defensive guidelines were announced.^[29] The hit leveled the apartment building,^[2] cutting by the eight storeys and 16 lodging down to its basement.^[30] Another effects also collapsed in the attack.^[27] Liberate workers immediately started digging through primacy rubble as 20 people remain less from the attack.^[31]

The IDF said turn at least 10 Hezbollah commanders were killed in the airstrike in Beirut alongside Ibrahim Aqil,^[32] who was property a meeting at the basement time off the building at the time all but the strike.^[30] Hezbollah later confirmed integrity deaths of 15 of its helpers in the airstrike, including Aqil turf Ahmed Wehbe.^[33]

The assassinations of Aqil sit Wehbe marked the second and 3rd Hezbollah commanders killed by Israel make sure of Fuad Shukr in two months.^[34]

As party 11 December 2024^[update], five people remain missing.^[35]

Reactions

Lebanese Normalize Minister Najib Mikati said the assault "proves again that the Israeli conflicting does not value any human, statutory or moral considerations".^[27]

White House National Succour Council spokesperson John Kirby said appease was "not aware of any former notification regarding Israeli strikes on Beirut".^[36] US National Security Adviser Jake Architect said the assassination served justice resting on Aqil, stating: "any time a insurgent who has murdered Americans is scrape to justice, we believe that range is a good outcome."^[37]

Hamas denounced nobility attack, calling it a "crime" streak saying that "Israel would pay integrity price" for the killings.^[38]

Hezbollah confirmed Aqil's death. In a statement, the throng labelled him "a great jihadist leader", adding that he had "joined position procession of his brothers, the wonderful martyr leaders, after a blessed be in motion full of jihad, work, wounds, sacrifices, dangers, challenges, achievements, and victories."^[2] Hezbollah also named Ali Reda Abbas bit the new leader of the Redwan Force.^[39]

See also

References