One day after Israel’s attack on a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) elaborated on Saturday on the operation, saying 12 of the 16 killed were members of Hezbollah, the Shiite militia backed by Iran.
The information could only be partially verified.
The dead were a threat to both Israeli and Lebanese civilians, the IDF spokesman said.
Among them was a man named Abu Hassan Samir, who was said to be the head of the training unit of the Radwan force, a Hezbollah elite unit. During Friday’s attack on the Hezbollah meeting, other commanders of this unit were also killed.
The IDF, in a post on Telegram, said Samir was “one of the planners and leaders” of the so-called “Conquer the Galilee” plan, which the IDF says planned to raid Israeli communities of the northern Galilee region. This could not be independently confirmed.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 37 people were killed in the attack, including three children. Among the dead was the high-ranking Hezbollah military commander Ibrahim Aqil, who was the target of the attack. Aqil was the leader of the Radwan Force.
Hezbollah spoke of a total of 15 members killed, including Aqil, after Friday’s attack.
