(JNS) The IDF on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 24 carried out a second precision strike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district in as many days, killing Ibrahim Qubaisi, who heads Hezbollah’s missile and rocket array.
The strike came less than 24 hours after the attempted assassination of Hezbollah’s No. 3 terrorist commander, Ali Karaki, in the same area.
Qubaisi joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and held a series of key positions in the terror organization, according to the IDF. As part of his role, he “was responsible for the planning and execution of many terrorist actions against the IDF forces and Israeli citizens,” the army said.
“Qubaisi commanded Hezbollah’s various missile units, including the precision missile units. Over the years and during the [current] war, he was responsible for launches towards the Israeli home front. Qubaisi was a central source of knowledge in the field of missiles and was close to the senior military leadership of Hezbollah,” the IDF continued.
The top terrorist also planned the October 2000 kidnapping of IDF Staff Sgts. Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Souad from the Mount Dov border area. The soldiers were killed by their captors either during or shortly after their abduction, and their remains were only returned to Israel four years later as part of a terrorist release deal with Hezbollah.
According to the Israeli military, Qubaisi was surrounded by “other key commanders in Hezbollah’s missile and rocket array” when the attack was launched. At least five other people were killed and several more were injured in the airstrike, according to initial Lebanese reports.
Following the strike in Beirut, Hezbollah launched a massive rocket barrage at Israel’s north, triggering air-raid sirens, including in the Upper Galilee city of Safed. No injuries were reported in the attacks.
Israel’s Channel 12 said that more than 100 projectiles were launched at the Jewish state within one hour, with the Golan Regional Council telling residents to stay near bomb shelters and avoid public gatherings.
Tuesday’s aerial attack marked the fifth time that the Israeli army struck the Lebanese capital since Hezbollah joined the war against the Jewish state in support of Palestinian Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre.
