The IDF will continue to pursue Hezbollah terrorists until displaced citizens from northern Israel are able to safely return to their communities, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said shortly after the IDF confirmed it eliminated Hezbollah senior Radwan Commander Ibrahim Aqil on Friday.
“I have recently completed a situation assessment together with the IDF Chief of the General Staff and senior IDF officials on developments in the northern arena and the precise operation conducted to eliminate senior Hezbollah operatives," Gallant said. "We will continue pursuing our enemies in order to defend our citizens - even in the Dahieh in Beirut.
"The series of operations in the new phase of the war will continue until we achieve our goal: ensuring the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes.”
Other Israeli officials react
International and Israeli officials expressed varied reactions to the news that the IDF conducted a strike on Beirut on Friday and eliminated a Hezbollah Radwan commander - with some expressing their fears that this would only further escalate the regional tensions that arose following Hamas's October 7 attacks on southern Israel and the ongoing war against the terror group.
"The Hezbollah commanders we eliminated today had been planning their 'October 7th' on the northern border for years," IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said in comments made after the Radwan commander was eliminated. "We reached them, and we will reach anyone who threatens the security of Israel's citizens."
Dan Poraz, Chargé d'affaires at the Israeli embassy in Spain, wrote on X, “Hezbollah had numerous chances to accept a deal brokered by the United States to which Israel agreed to: to stop attacking Israel and to pull its forces north of the Litani river. They refused. And now they’re paying the price. And dragging an entire country down with them.”
Condemnations of the strike
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati accused Israel of giving “no weight to any humanitarian, legal or moral considerations” after the targeted strike.
The strike reportedly killed eight people and wounded 59 others, Lebanon's health ministry said in a preliminary toll.
Iran's embassy in Lebanon condemned the strike, saying on social media, "We strongly condemn the Israeli madness and arrogance that has exceeded all limits by targeting residential areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of dozens, including children and women."
ندين بأشد العبارات الجنون الإسرائيلي والصلف الذي تجاوز كل الحدود باستهداف المناطق السكنية في الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت، ما أسفر عن استشهاد وجرح العشرات، بينهم أطفال ونساء. نؤكد مجددًا أن مثل هذه الجرائم الإرهابية لن تنال من عزيمة وإيمان اللبنانيين. خالص العزاء لأهالي الشهداء،…
— السفارة الإيرانية- لبنان (@IranEmbassyLB) September 20, 2024
The Iranian embassy labeled the strike as "terrorist crimes." The embassy did not comment on the presence of terror groups in the capital city.
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Harris-Plasschaert expressed concern that "This afternoon's strike in a densely populated area in the southern suburbs of #Beirut is yet another alarming escalation. We are witnessing an extremely dangerous cycle of violence with devastating consequences."
"This must stop now. A diplomatic way out is still possible," the UN official asserted.
This afternoon's strike in a densely populated area in the southern suburbs of #Beirut is yet another alarming escalation. We are witnessing an extremely dangerous cycle of violence with devastating consequences.This must stop now. A diplomatic way out is still possible. pic.twitter.com/Q5CgAlJ8zJ
— UNSCOL (@UNSCOL) September 20, 2024
Discussions on regional escalation renew
Other international figures held back on reacting, instead meeting to discuss the recent escalations between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.
Britain's foreign minister, David Lammy, chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee, known as COBR, on Friday to discuss the latest situation in Lebanon.
"The Foreign Secretary has chaired a meeting of COBR this morning on the latest situation in Lebanon and to discuss ongoing preparedness work, with the risk of escalation remaining high," the Foreign Office said in a statement.
US National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby asserted that there was no US involvement in the strike, and pushed for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
“There was no US involvement,” Kirby said, adding, "We believe that there is still time and space for diplomacy to work.”
“We don't want to see escalation. We don't want to see a second war, a second front in this war opened up at the border with Lebanon,” Kirby stressed, adding that “everything we're doing is going to be involved in trying to prevent that outcome.”
"There is no reason for an expanded military conflict in Lebanon to be inevitable,” Kirby stated.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.