Beirut strike kills suspect in 1983 bombings that killed 300 Americans

US Secretary Antony Blinken warns against escalation as tensions rise in Middle East
The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that "escalatory actions" could threaten a Gaza cease-fire.

This story has been updated with new information.

Israel killed a top Hezbollah figure who was wanted by the U.S. for his role in the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and a Marine Corps barracks that killed 300 people, the Israeli military confirmed Friday.

Hezbollah's operations commander, Ibrahim Aqil, was the subject of a $7 million State Department reward for information leading to his arrest.

The Israeli military said it had killed Aqil and as many as 10 other senior commanders of the movement's Radwan special forces unit. Nine people were reported dead and 59 were injured in the attack, Lebanese officials said.

"This elimination is intended to protect the citizens of Israel," an Israeli military spokesman said in a brief statement.

More: Hezbollah radios explode, injuring hundreds in new blasts tied to Israel

 

The State Department has identified Aqil, also known as Tahsin, as a member of Hezbollah's "highest military body," the Jihad Council.

In the 1980s, as different factions vied for control of Lebanon and a U.S. Marine detachment was deployed as a would-be peacekeeping force, Aqil was a top figure in Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization. The organization took credit for the April 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people, and the Marine Corps barracks in October of that year, which killed 241 Americans.

Aqil also oversaw the abductions of American and German hostages in Lebanon, the State Department said last year. The department named Aqil a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in 2019.

More: Airline bans pagers, walkie-talkies after devices explode across Lebanon

Aqil's killing came amid an extensive wave of air strikes against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon late Thursday and Friday, adding to fears of a serious escalation in months of simmering conflict along the border.

The strikes followed a pledge by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to take revenge on Israel, who the group accuses of orchestrating an audacious two-day attack in Lebanon that saw Hezbollah pagers and handheld radios explode, killing more than 30 people and seriously injuring thousands. Israel has not commented on the incident.

Israel's Defense Forces said they struck more than 100 Hezbollah missile launchers as well as a munitions depot Thursday and Friday as well as targets in Beirut. Images published on social media and by Lebanon's state media showed plumes of smoke over neighborhoods in southern Beirut.

Hundreds more hurt in Lebanon after walkie-talkies, pagers explode in new round of blasts
Walkie-talkies and pagers used by Lebanon's Hezbollah group detonated in homes and businesses across the country.

Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Friday that appeared to cause fires. No injuries were immediately reported.

Nasrallah said Thursday the pager and walkie-talkie attack crossed "all red lines" and it was a "declaration of war."

Lebanon's foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, has warned that the "blatant assault on Lebanon’s sovereignty and security" was a dangerous precedent that could “signal a wider" coming war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and an ally of Hamas, has been firing near-daily missiles into Israel's territory since Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel and Israel responded by launching a war in Gaza. About 60,000 Israeli residents of northern Israel have since evacuated south amid Hezbollah's assaults.

Israel has pledged to make it safe for its residents to return to northern Israel. The IDF on Friday lifted temporary orders restricting movement and large gatherings issued for communities in northern Israel and the Golan Heights.

Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, has said his nation is "at the start of a new phase of the war."

Hezbollah and Israel have been enemies for years and last fought a major war in 2006.