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Israeli Airstrike in Beirut Kills Top Hezbollah Terror Commander
An explosion takes place as Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Zibqin, Lebanon, Aug. 25, 2024, in this still image obtained from a video. Photo: Reuters TV via REUTERS
JNS.org — A targeted strike by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Beirut on Friday reportedly killed senior Hezbollah terrorist Ibrahim Aqil — alias Al-Hajj Abdul Khader — in the predominately Shi’ite Dahiyeh neighborhood.
Aqil was a member of Hezbollah’s top “military” body, the Jihad Council, which is subordinate to the Shura Council and under the direct control of terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah.
He was also responsible for the Radwan Force commandos in the Swords of Iron War and led Hezbollah’s tunnel project in Lebanon.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that the Biden administration was not informed of the strike ahead of time.
The United States had offered a $7 million bounty for Aqil.
In July, the Israeli Air Force struck in Beirut, killing Fuad Shukr, also known as al-Hajj Mohsin, a senior member of the Jihad Council who was responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed 241 US troops in the Lebanese capital.
In January, an Israeli drone strike on an office in Beirut eliminated Saleh al-Arouri, the commander of Hamas operations in Judea and Samaria and the terrorist group’s deputy politburo chief.
Edging towards full-blown war
Earlier on Friday, the IDF hit several buildings, a weapons depot, and more than 100 loaded, ready-to-fire rocket launchers belonging to Hezbollah across southern Lebanon, in one of the most significant attacks since the Iranian proxy opened a front against Israel in support of Hamas in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre.
The Israeli strikes were launched in several waves throughout the afternoon following a heavy barrage of some 150 rockets from Lebanon.
Israel has been conducting waves of strikes since dozens of Hezbollah terrorists were killed earlier this week when their communications devices were remotely detonated in coordinated attacks attributed to Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, at least 12 Hezbollah terrorists were killed and some 3,000 wounded across Lebanon when their pagers exploded. The terrorist organization said it held Israel “fully responsible” and vowed revenge.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, at least 25 Hezbollah operatives were killed and 450 wounded on Wednesday when their hand-held walkie-talkies exploded.
Nasrallah acknowledged on Thursday that Hezbollah had suffered an unparalleled defeat, saying that the alleged Israeli attacks amounted to a declaration of war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that the current circumstances in the Galilee and the Golan “will not continue.”
He called for a “change in the balance of forces on our northern border,” amid daily attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon while pledging to do “whatever is necessary” to return evacuated residents safely to their homes.
Netanyahu spoke days after he ordered the military to prepare for a broad campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed terrorist army.
His instructions were given during a security-strategic discussion on Sept. 12 with the heads of the security establishment, including Defense Minster Yoav Gallant, along with Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
On Wednesday, Gallant said that the IDF had entered a new stage in the conflict against Iran’s regional terrorist proxies.
“I believe that we are at the beginning of a new period in this war,” he declared, speaking at the Ramat David Airbase near Haifa.
“The center of gravity is moving to the north. This means that we are moving forces, resources, and energy to the north,” the defense minister said. “We did not forget the hostages, and we did not forget our missions in the south. This is our duty, and we carry it out simultaneously.”
Hours later, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi approved “attack and defense plans for the north,” the army said. “We still have many capabilities that we have not yet activated, I repeat, we have not yet activated,” he said.
“The rule is that every time we work on a certain stage, the next two stages are already ready to advance. At each stage, the price for Hezbollah must be high,” Halevi added.
The post Israeli Airstrike in Beirut Kills Top Hezbollah Terror Commander first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.
Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.
“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”
The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.
The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.
Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”
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US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.
In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”
The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.
Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.
“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.
Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.
“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.
Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.
Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.
Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”
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US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah
A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.
Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.
However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”
According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”
The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.
In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.
“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.
Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.
According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.
The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.
These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,
UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.