The Lebanese Hezbollah mourned yesterday evening, Friday, and this morning, Saturday, the leaders in its ranks. Ibrahim AqilAhmed Mahmoud Wahbi, and 14 other elements were martyred in an Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced the death and injury of dozens, including a large number of children and women. Israeli raid In the southern suburb of Beirut.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it had assassinated the prominent Hezbollah military leader Ibrahim Aqil and other senior leaders of the party (whom it did not name) in the raid.
Hezbollah mourns Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi
Hezbollah said in a statement: “Today (Friday) the great jihadist leader Hajj Ibrahim Aqil (Hajj Abdul Qader) joined the procession of his brothers, the great martyr leaders, after a blessed life full of jihad, work, wounds, sacrifices, risks, challenges, achievements and victories. He was always worthy of receiving this lofty divine medal.”
He added: “With great pride and honor, the Islamic Resistance today presents one of its great leaders as a martyr on the road to Jerusalem, and pledges to his pure soul to remain loyal to his goals, hopes and path until victory, God willing.”
In another statement, Hezbollah mourned its leader, Ahmed Mahmoud Wahbi, “Hajj Abu Hussein Samir.”
Wahbi was in charge of the Radwan Force until the beginning of 2024.
He said in a statement: “With great pride and honor, the Islamic Resistance announces the martyrdom of the Mujahid leader Ahmed Mahmoud Wahbi, born in 1964 from the town of Adloun in southern Lebanon and a resident of the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa, who was martyred on the road to Jerusalem.”
The party mourned 14 members of its ranks, namely:
- Mahmoud Yassin Hamad “Fajr” was born in 1977 in the town of Nabatieh al-Tahta in southern Lebanon.
- Samer Abdel Halim Halawi “Hamza Al-Gharbiyya” was born in 1980 in the town of Qaqaiyat Al-Jisr in southern Lebanon.
- Hassan Hussein Madi “Abu Hadi Midoun” was born in 1980 in the town of Midoun in the Western Bekaa.
- Muhammad Ahmad Reda “Abu Ali Nineveh” was born in 1986 in the town of Anqoun in southern Lebanon.
- Muhammad Qasim Al-Attar “Abu Yasser Al-Attar” was born in 1973 in the town of Al-Sharbin in the Bekaa.
- Ahmed Samir Deeb “Jihad” was born in 1991 in the town of Mays al-Jabal in southern Lebanon.
- Abdullah Abbas Hijazi “Bilal” was born in 1987 in the town of Hortaala in the Bekaa.
- Aref Ahmed Al-Raz “Siraj” was born in 1980 in Beirut.
- Hassan Ali Hussein “Abu Sajid” was born in 1975 in the town of Kfarmelki in southern Lebanon.
- Abbas Sami Muslimmani “Siraj Ali” was born in 1985 in the town of Al-Jbeen in southern Lebanon.
- Hussein Ahmed Hadroj “Siraj” was born in 1984 in the town of Ghassaniya in southern Lebanon.
- Hassan Youssef Abdel Sater “Baqer” was born in 1988 in the town of Iaat in the Bekaa.
- Mahdi Muslim Jamoul “Jawad” was born in 1981 in the town of Azza in southern Lebanon.
- Jihad Shafiq Khazal Khanafer “Zuhair” was born in 1970 in the town of Ainatha in southern Lebanon.
Who is the Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil?
Aqeel, also known as Tahseen, served on the Jihad Council, Hezbollah’s highest military council, according to the U.S. government’s Rewards for Justice website.
The website, which offers rewards for information leading to the capture of people wanted by Washington, said that “during the 1980s, Aqil was a key member of the Islamic Jihad organization, a Hezbollah cell that claimed responsibility for the bombings targeting the US embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people.”
This organization also claimed responsibility for the attack on the US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983, which resulted in the deaths of 241 American personnel.
In 2015, the US Treasury designated Aqil as a “terrorist” under Executive Order 13582 for “acting for or on behalf of Hizballah.”
Then, on September 10, 2019, the US Department of State designated Aqeel a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” under Executive Order 13224, as amended.
In this context, in April 2023, the Rewards for Justice Program offered a reward of up to $7 million for information on Aqeel.
This comes as the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority claimed that Aqil “took over the leadership of the Radwan Force in Hezbollah after the assassination (of Tel Aviv) of Wissam al-Tawil, the commander of this force, a few months ago.”
The authority added that Aqil recently took over “Hezbollah’s special operations system, and was also responsible for the party’s spending program.”
Israeli raid on the southern suburb
The Lebanese News Agency reported that the building targeted in the raid on the southern suburb was hit by 4 missiles, noting that the raid also caused the collapse of another nearby building.
For his part, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said during a government meeting on Friday that Israel’s targeting of Beirut’s southern suburbs once again proves that it “does not give weight to any humanitarian, legal, or moral considerations,” and considered that it is “continuing in what resembles genocide.”
This comes as the White House said in a statement on Friday that Washington “did not receive” prior notice from Israel regarding the raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
This is the third attack launched by Israel on the southern suburb of Beirut, the main stronghold of Hezbollah in Lebanon, since the current wave of mutual clashes began nearly a year ago.
On January 2, Israel assassinated the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, and on July 30, it assassinated the prominent Hezbollah leader, Fouad Shukr.
The attack comes amid a new wave of Israeli escalation against Lebanon, the most prominent features of which were the bombings of communications devices across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, which left 37 martyrs and more than 3,250 wounded, in addition to the escalation of air strikes on southern Lebanon and other towns in the interior, and finally the targeting of the southern suburbs of Beirut today.
What are the scenarios for the post-assassination phase of Aqil?
The political leadership in Israel is facing internal pressures due to the delay in returning the northern settlers to their homes safely, which prompted it a few days ago to put this matter on the list of war objectives, while Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah confirms that the only way to return the northern settlers is to stop the war on Gaza.
For his part, the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces, Qased Mahmoud, believed that Hezbollah has many options to respond to Israel, noting that the party is still at the first level in using its military capabilities, as it still uses Katyushas and small drones, while it has not yet used the ballistic, hypersonic and destructive missiles that it possesses.
Speaking to Al Arabiya TV from the Jordanian capital, Amman, Mahmoud expressed his belief that the political strategy of the party and the axis of resistance, especially Iran, leads to the military level paying a very high price.
He added that the response to Israel should have been made from the first moment the wireless devices were blown up in Beirut, explaining that the political level is the one that obstructs the military level in terms of response.
Regarding the possible scenarios after the assassination of Aqil, Mahmoud explained that there are several scenarios, including an escalation aimed at signing a certain political deal, but this option is excluded due to the existence of two conflicting conditions: Israel’s condition, which is the return of the residents to the north, and Hezbollah’s condition, which links the return to a cessation of the war in Gaza.
Mahmoud expected that things are heading towards a major military escalation, adding that the resistance must have a position and take military action very soon.
