The United Nations said Friday it was "very concerned" following the Israeli strikes in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, which eliminated top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil and other senior members of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.
"We are, of course, very concerned about the heightened escalation... including the deadly strikes we saw in Beirut today. We urge all parties to deescalate immediately. All must exercise maximum restraint," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as quoted by AFP.
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday that Aqil along with the senior chain of command of the Radwan Force were hiding “underground, beneath a residential building in the heart of the Dahieh neighborhood, using civilians as human shields. They had gathered to coordinate terrorist activities against the citizens of Israel.”
“Aqil and the Radwan Force commanders we struck were the masterminds of and the force behind Hezbollah’s plan to execute an attack on Northern Israel on what they referred to as the ‘Plan to Conquer the Galilee.’ As part of this plan, Hezbollah intended to infiltrate Israel, seize control of the communities in the Galilee, and to kill and kidnap Israeli civilians, much like Hamas did on October 7th. Since October 8th, these commanders led attacks against Israel’s citizens and were planning further operations,” continued the IDF Spokesperson.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said following Friday’s elimination, “The Hezbollah commanders we eliminated today had been planning their ‘October 7th’ on the northern border for years. We reached them, and we will reach anyone who threatens the security of Israel’s citizens.”
Guterres has previously been critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza against Hamas terrorists.
In late October, the UN Secretary-General said that Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 “did not happen in a vacuum” and appeared to blame Israel for the attack.
After his remarks were widely condemned, the UN chief claimed his comments were misinterpreted and that he had indeed condemned Hamas.
Later, he mentioned the sexual crimes committed by Hamas in its October 7 attack in Israel in the same breath as “reports of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees”.
Earlier this week, Guterres accused Israel of “collective punishment” of the people of Gaza.
"It is unimaginable, the level of suffering in Gaza, the level of deaths and destruction have no parallel in everything I've witnessed since (becoming) Secretary-General," Guterres told the AFP news agency.
"We all condemn the terror attacks made by Hamas, as well as the taking of the hostages, that is an absolute violation of international humanitarian law," he added.
"But the truth is that nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, and that is what we are witnessing in a dramatic way in Gaza," stated Guterres.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)