Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs killed 12 people on Friday, September 20. "The number of martyrs in the Israeli enemy strike on Beirut's southern suburbs rose to 12 people with 66 wounded, including nine in critical condition," the ministry said, adding rescuers were still looking through the rubble. The Israeli army confirmed on Telegram that it had made a "targeted strike" in Beirut. This was the first such Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital in months.
The Israeli military announced that the commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, Ibrahim Aqil, and other senior figures of the Lebanese armed group had been killed in the air strike. "Following precise intelligence, the Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a targeted strike in the Beirut area, eliminating Ibrahim Aqil, commander of the Radwan unit" along with other "senior figures in the operations network and command chain" of Radwan, the military said in a statement.
The strike in Dahiyeh, just kilometers from downtown Beirut, hit during rush hour, as people were leaving work and students headed home from school. The escalation came as the region awaited the revenge promised by the militant group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, for this week's mass attack on pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members.
Iran's embassy in Lebanon condemned the strike: "We condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli madness and arrogance that has exceeded all limits by targeting residential areas in Beirut's southern suburbs," the embassy posted on X.
Israel's rare strike on the Beirut suburbs came after Hezbollah pounded Israel with 140 rockets, which the Israeli military said came in three waves targeting sites along the ravaged border with Lebanon.
Following the attacks, the Israeli military said that it had struck areas across southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, but didn't provide details of damage.
Hezbollah said that its attacks had targeted several sites along the border with Katyusha rockets, including multiple air defense bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade they said they'd struck for the first time.