20 September 2024 Beirut attack

On 20 September 2024, at around 15:45 EEST, Israel carried out an air strike on a building on Jamous Street in the al-Qaem neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold. According to the Lebanese National News Agency, the strike was carried out in two sorties by an F-35 fighter jet. The strike leveled an eight-storey apartment building containing 16 apartments down to its basement, and another nearby building also collapsed. Rescue workers began digging through the rubble, with 20 people reported missing following the attack.

At least 45 people were killed, including at least three children and seven women, with 68 others injured. Israel said the strike targeted commanders of Hezbollah's elite Redwan Force command committee, who were reportedly holding a meeting in the building's basement at the time. The Israel Defense Forces said at least 10 Hezbollah commanders were killed, including Ibrahim Aqil. Hezbollah later confirmed the deaths of 15 of its members, including Aqil and Ahmed Wehbe. Ibrahim Aqil was a senior Hezbollah official, a member of its Jihad Council, and believed to be head of the Redwan Force; he had been designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. State Department in 2019 and was subject to a $7 million reward through the Rewards for Justice program since April 2023. The strike came roughly two months after Israel assassinated another Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, and followed a wave of pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon and Syria on 17–18 September 2024 that Hezbollah described as its biggest security breach of the conflict.

Reactions followed from multiple parties. Israel's military spokesperson said the strike was "intended to protect the citizens of Israel." Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack "proves again that the Israeli enemy does not value any human, legal or moral considerations." White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby denied U.S. involvement or prior notification, while U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the killing of Aqil "served justice." Hamas denounced the strike as a "crime" and said Israel would "pay the price." Hezbollah confirmed Aqil's death, calling him "a great jihadist leader," and named Ali Reda Abbas as the new leader of the Redwan Force.

The attack occurred amid an ongoing cross-border military exchange between Israel and Hezbollah that began following the start of the Gaza war in late 2023, and which had displaced communities on both sides of the Israel–Lebanon border.