The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has claimed to have thwarted an October 7-style massacre in northern Israel after Friday’s shocking air strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
The IDF took out two senior Hezbollah commanders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi. Aqil, who had a $7m (£5.2m) bounty on his head from the US, was regarded as the second in command of the terror group.
The strike, which targeted an elite Hezbollah unit known as the Radwan, also took out 14 fighters.
The Radwan unit was reportedly moving ahead with their top-secret ‘Conquer the Galilee’ invasion plan, which would see Hezbollah fighters storm across the Israeli border, “invade Israeli homes and kill innocent people”.
The strike on the high-rise apartment block was also the deadliest in a year of conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia. It killed at least 31 people, including three children and seven women.
It is thought that the death toll could be close to 50, with at least 18 people missing and presumed dead. Another 68 people were wounded in the attack.
The IDF has defended the airstrike on the residential building, amid a week of chaotic violence in Lebanon.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari revealed that the elite Hezbollah team was gathering in a secret bunker under the building to discuss a new massacre plot across the border in northern Israel.
Mr Hagari said: “At the time of the strike, Aqil and the commanders of the Radwan Forces, were gathered underground, under a residential building in the heart of the Dahieh in Beirut
“Hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields. They were in the middle of planning more terror attacks against Israeli civilians.”
He added: “Ibrahim Aqil and the Radwan commanders who were eliminated today, were planning Hezbollah’s ‘Conquer the Galilee’ invasion plan – into Israeli communities.
“These terrorists planned to do in northern Israel what Hamas did in southern Israel on October 7th – invade Israeli homes and kill innocent people.”
The attack on Friday followed two further days of attacks in which pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded. Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has responded to this week’s attacks by firing rockets at two military positions in northern Israel today.
At the same time, there have been heavy Israeli strikes in several areas of south Lebanon also on Saturday.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the Israeli-Lebanon border since Israel launched its war in Gaza against Hamas.
Hezbollah has insisted that it will only stop firing into Israel once a ceasefire is declared in Gaza.
The onslaught from Hezbollah has forced over 50,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes in northern Israel for the past year.
Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who backs Hezbollah with financial aid and weapons, blasted Israel today for committing “shameless crimes” against children.
He said: “Unable to hurt the real fighters in Palestine, they are venting their malicious anger on small children, on hospital patients, and on schools filled with young children.”