IDF kills Hezbollah’s top commander, says he was overseeing plan for invasion of Galilee. Ibrahim Aqil was wanted dead or alive by US for attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in 1980s; 10 more of terror group’s military leadership also eliminated in the rare Beirut suburbs airstrike, as they met underground beneath a residential building. At least 10 members of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force and operations division were killed in the strike, which Lebanese media reported was carried out by an Israeli F-35 fighter jet using two missiles. “Aqil and the other Radwan Force commanders who we attacked are the ones who drew up the Hezbollah terror group’s plan to attack the northern territory of the State of Israel — what they called ‘The plan to conquer the Galilee'. In this upcoming planned invasion, Hezbollah intended to raid Israeli territory, occupy the farms and cities of the Galilee, and murder and kidnap Israeli citizens — similar to what Hamas did on October 7.” The US government had accused Aqil of a leading role in the Beirut truck bombings at the American embassy in April 1983, which killed 63 people, including the chief of the CIA Near East station, and a US Marine barracks six months later that murdered 241 servicemen deployed on a peacekeeping mission. He was also wanted for directing the taking of American and German hostages in Lebanon during the 1980s. The US had previously placed a $7 million bounty on Aqil’s head. White House spokesperson John Kirby said he was unaware of any Israeli heads-up regarding Friday’s strike. He stressed that the US wasn’t involved and was still working to avoid any further military escalation through diplomatic arrangements. US special envoy Amos Hochstein told Israeli leaders during a visit earlier this week that launching a war against Hezbollah isn’t likely to secure Israel the conditions it is seeking to return its 80,000 evacuated residents to their homes near the northern border and argued that both sides will ultimately be pushed to agree to the same deal currently on the table after both suffering major losses.

RED BUTTON The Hezbollah terror group Director General spoke out today about the communication device explosions in Lebanon: "A declaration of war." Hassan Nasrallah spoke from his bunker in hiding for the first time about the surprising pager and walkie-talkie explosions that simultaneously killed and wounded thousands of terrorist fighters in Lebanon, along with the Iranian ambassador to that nation and some score of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commandos stationed in neighboring Syria. "Israel crossed all red lines by detonating thousands of pagers. This could be called a declaration of war," he stated. "The devices exploded in unison. As a result of this aggression, dozens were killed... and thousands were injured. The true numbers will come with time. This is an act of terror, massacre, genocide." More than 4,000 pagers were recently distributed to the terror organization's operatives, so they couldn't be tracked or overheard on their cellphones. "We undoubtedly suffered a major security and humanitarian blow, unprecedented in the history of man and maybe in the history of the conflict. We were hit hard, but that's the situation in war. We understand that the enemy has technological supremacy. Especially since it is supported by the US and the West. When we are in a conflict we bet on Holy War (Jihad), and on attrition. We had many victories until now." Lebanon has reported that 26 people died during the last few days after their communications devices exploded, but Israel Defense Force estimates that the true number is far higher. According to Lebanese official reports, 12 people were killed in Tuesday's beeper explosions and 14 died when their hand-held radios exploded on Wednesday. Almost all were Hezbollah fighters, though one was the young daughter of a terrorist, who was bringing her father his beeper when the device exploded. Israeli security forces estimate that the "official figures" are far lower than the real truth, and that many dozen, if not more, terrorists were killed in the blasts and thousands incapacitated.