Elite Radwan Force commander killed, Hezbollah confirms
Hezbollah confirmed the death of senior military official Ibrahim Aqil in an Israeli air strike in Beirut.
In a statement, Hezbollah described Aqil as “a great jihadist leader” and said he “joined the procession of his brothers, the great martyr leaders, after a blessed life full of jihad [struggle], work, wounds, sacrifices, dangers, challenges, achievements, and victories”.
Israeli officials earlier said the rare strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Aqil, a commander of the Lebanese group’s elite Radwan Force. The strike killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Lebanese FM warns of regional escalation amid Israeli attacks
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has warned that Israeli attacks on his country may lead to an “unprecedented” and “devastating” regional war. In an address at the UN, Bou Habib accused Israel of acting like a “rogue state that disregards international legitimacy”.
He said the international community should not allow Israel to continue with its “impunity”.
UN condemns Lebanon device blasts as violation of international law
The United Nations has condemned the detonation of hand-held communication devices that killed 37 people in Lebanon.
“It is a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians,” the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, told the Security Council during an emergency session on Lebanon requested by Algeria.
He also repeated his call for an “independent, rigorous and transparent” investigation into the attack that injured nearly 3,000 people.
Beirut’s top diplomat, meanwhile, accused Israel of orchestrating what he called a “terror” attack.
