Senior Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut

A top Hezbollah military commander was killed in an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, in a major escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.

The Israel Defense Forces announced the “elimination” of Ibrahim Aqil, a senior member of Hezbollah’s top military body, in a statement on X. Aqil was one of several senior Hezbollah officials killed in Friday’s strike, the IDF said.

Hezbollah confirmed Aqil’s death, calling him in a statement a “great martyr” and “one of the great jihadist leaders,” according to media reports. The militant group acknowledged that several other Hezbollah members were also killed in the attack.

The IDF said that Aqil and the other targets of the strike were “hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields.”

Lebanese officials said at least 14 people were killed and dozens injured in the strike that hit the densely populated area in Beirut.

The Israeli airstrike came shortly after Hezbollah launched 140 rockets at northern Israel.

Friday’s attack was the latest escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants, with fears growing of a wider war in the region. This week had already seen the explosion of pagers and other communications devices used by Hezbollah members and numerous Israeli air strikes over Lebanon.

A senior United Nations official warned on Friday that the hostilities in the Middle East are in danger of spiraling to unprecedented levels.

“We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,” U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council. “I also strongly urge member states with influence over the parties to leverage it now.”

American and British authorities have urged their citizens not to travel to Lebanon. The White House said it was involved in intense diplomacy to prevent escalation of the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border.