IDF targets one of Nasrallah’s last remaining deputies; Hezbollah says he’s alive
Security sources say fourth strike on Beirut since war began targeted Ali Karaki, who was tapped to replace commander Ibrahim Aqil, killed in Lebanese capital on Friday
An Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Monday evening targeted Hezbollah commander Ali Karaki, fueling speculation as to whether the senior terror leader had been killed in the attack, leaving the terror group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, alone at the top, with Israel having eliminated almost all its leadership over the past 11 months.
In a statement on Monday night, after security sources confirmed that the strike had targeted Karaki, Hezbollah said that he was “fine and, God willing, in full health and wellness and has moved to a safe place.”
The IDF said it would provide further details on the “targeted strike” soon, just the fourth in Beirut since Hezbollah-led forces began attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis on October 8 in solidarity with Hamas during the war in Gaza.
Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath reported that Karaki, along with senior officer Talal Hamiya, was appointed to replace Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s military operations, after he was killed in an IDF strike in Beirut on Friday.
Karaki was serving as the head of Hezbollah’s so-called “Southern Front,” responsible for the terror group’s military activity in south Lebanon, and as a member of the Jihad Council, Hezbollah’s top military body.
Serving under Karaki were Taleb Abdullah, the commander of the Nasr regional division; Muhammad Nasser, the commander of the Aziz regional division; and Abu Ali Rida, the commander of the Bader regional division.
Both Abdullah and Nasser were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, in June 11 and July 3, respectively.
Separately, Wissam al-Tawil, the deputy head of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, was killed in southern Lebanon on January 8, in a strike blamed on Israel.
Friday’s strike in Beirut also targeted and killed Ahmed Wahbi, identified by Hezbollah and the IDF as the head of the terror group’s training unit and a former commander of the Radwan Force, and 10 other top Radwan Force commanders.
“These commanders had been leading and planning the Radwan Force’s attack and infiltration plan into Israeli territory for years, to be executed when given the order,” the IDF said after Friday’s strike. “Aqil and the commanders eliminated in the strike were responsible for planning, advancing, and executing hundreds of terrorist operations against Israel, including the planning of Hezbollah’s murderous scheme to raid the communities of the Galilee.”
President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday that the top Hezbollah commanders targeted in the Beirut strike had convened to plan an attack on Israel like the devastating October 7 assault by Palestinian terror group Hamas.
It came after the IDF, in its highest-level assassination in the past year in Lebanon, on July 30 killed Hezbollah’s top commander, Fuad Shukr, who Israel said was responsible for a deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams that killed 12 children.
Identified by the IDF as Nasrallah’s right-hand man, Shukr was one of Hezbollah’s leading military figures since it was established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards more than four decades ago.
The United States imposed sanctions on Shukr in 2015 and accused him of playing a central role in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut.
A few hours after the strike on Shukr, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in a Tehran guesthouse on July 31, sparking vows of retribution from the Palestinian terror group, along with its Iranian patrons. Israel has not taken responsibility for Haniyeh’s death.
Israel also killed Hamas military wing chief Muhammad Deif in an airstrike in Khan Younis in Gaza on July 13, and Deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri on January in a strike in Beirut on January 2.
Monday’s strike came at a peak time with regard to the ongoing tensions with Hezbollah, with the terror group firing nearly 200 rockets at Israel during, mostly targeting areas deep in the north. At least 10 long-range projectiles were fired toward West Bank settlements, more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Lebanon border.
The attacks came as the IDF carried out over 300 airstrikes, mostly in southern Lebanon, targeting homes and other civilian buildings where the Iran-backed terror group has been storing rockets, missiles, drones, and other weapons.
The IDF warned civilians in advance to flee areas where Hezbollah has placed weapons and also announced that it would carry out strikes in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley later in the day.
A statement from Lebanon’s health ministry said the death toll from the strikes has reached 356, including 24 children and 42 women, with 1,246 others injured since Monday morning.
Since Hezbollah began attacking on October 8, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 22 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 506 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 80 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
Agencies contributed to this report.
