Reports indicate that Ibrahim Aqil, the leader of the elite Radwan Force of Hezbollah aligned with Iran, is dead. Also known as Basem Al Hajj Abdul Qadir, he was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The area in question is a Hezbollah bastion, and the news of Aqil’s demise is a remarkable turn in the present hostilities between the two countries.
Israeli force bombs Hezbollah commanders’ positions Ibrahim Aqil KilledÂ
Several Arab media reports indicate that airstrikes targeting armies within the country caused Aqil’s death, attributed to an F-35 Israeli fighter plane. The attack, which occurred in the southern suburbs of Beirut, also resulted in the deaths of several other high-ranking members of the Radwan force.
Verification from Israeli Sources
The Israeli military’s press office came out bearing the confession of the attack and Aqil’s death. This makes the airstrike one of the most significant blows to Hezbollah’s leadership in the last few years. As well as the Israeli sources, an Israel Radio report staff wrote that the US site that this air strike had completely killed Hezbollah’s leadership in this report, about 20 commanders of the Radwan Force sustained fatalities in that strike.
Hezbollah’s Retaliatory Attack Ibrahim Aqil KilledÂ
In reaction to the hitting airstrip, Hezbollah targeted the military intelligence building using missiles. The missile strike once again witnesses the strained relations between Lebanon and Israel at the Hezbollah and Israeli level that have been increasing since the hostilities between Hamas and Israel began in October the previous year.
Victims in Beirut Ibrahim Aqil KilledÂ
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reports fourteen deaths from the Israeli airstrike, with at least fifty-nine others wounded. Eight of the wounded look more critically injured than others, and thus, the deaths might still rise. The toll of the airstrike on civilians is alarming, as it was not just on the hierarchy of the Hezbollah ante but also included the ordinary people who reside in the southern suburbs of Beirut city destroyed by such brutalities.
Ibrahim Aqil: A Central Person within Hezbollah
Of all the Hezbollah fighters, Ibrahim Aqil has consistently been rated as the second after Fouad Shukr in importance. Shukr was a senior commander in Hezbollah wanted by the US and died from Israeli airstrikes last July. However, the fall of Lebanon’s military management will not be the first and not the previous within the ranks of the military leadership of Hezbollah.
Waging war is the specialty of this and Shuker, and none of their spicy dishes could be termed sharf. Shukr and Aqil’s centrality within the military structure’s operations and strategies would limit the amount of power each individual holds, thereby creating a hereditary succession crisis. Since he was commander of the Radwan Force, the requirements for retaining Aqil on the campus staff were the determination not to build the Radwan within Lebanon and Syria, where the group participates in conflict aiding the Assad regime.
Sustained Militarized Hostilities: Hezbollah and Israel Ibrahim Aqil KilledÂ
The airstrikes that led to the death of Brikman could be classified as the third instance of an Israeli offensive against Hezbollah’s south Beirut defenses after the outbreak of Hostilities between Hamas and Israel relating to the conflict.
The death of a commander of such a caliber will undoubtedly increase the level of the conflict as international relations are more likely to face retaliation in the form of more assaults on Israeli assets. This probably bears the defensive nature, assuming that Israel will attempt to continue its war to wipe out the nevertheless existing militant leadership of Hezbollah targeting.
In Summary
The killing of Ibrahim Aqil and the recurring pattern in the decades-long conflict between Hezbollah radicals and Israel suggests the drift itself progresses further. The vacuum of leadership in Hezbollah, if it exists within the elite unit Radwan Force, will undoubtedly change the pace and direction of the previously conducted war against Israel. With large-scale exchanges of violence still occurring from both camps, it is still very probable that more violence is likely to arise. The implication accentuates the insecurity in the region and the persistent cycle of Israeli war with Hezbollah.
