US officials on Saturday expressed approval of the death of Ibrahim Aqil, a top Hezbollah commander responsible for a 1983 bombing that killed 241 Americans in Beirut, who was killed by an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital on Friday.
Aqil, the head of operations for Hezbollah, was killed in the strike along with top commanders of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, as they met in the basement of a Beirut residential building. Lebanese officials said 37 people were killed in the strike, including three children and several women.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Aqil’s death “a good outcome,” adding that he planned to speak with Israeli officials later Saturday about the operation.
“That individual has American blood on his hands and has a Reward for Justice price on his head,” Sullivan told reporters on the sidelines of the Quad summit that US President Joe Biden is hosting in Wilmington, Delaware. “He is somebody who the United States promised long ago we would do everything we could to see brought to justice.”
Before Friday’s strike, the US had offered a $7 million reward for information on Aqil.
Sullivan added that the moment was also meaningful for the American victims.
“You know 1983 seems like a long time ago,” he said. “But for a lot of families and a lot of people, they’re still living with it every day.”
Nevertheless, Sullivan said he was still worried about possible escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed today, was responsible for the Beirut barracks and embassy bombing 40 years ago. So nobody sheds a tear for him,” Brett McGurk, the White House Mideast czar, said Friday while addressing the Israeli-American Council’s conference in Washington.
“That said, we have disagreements with the Israelis on tactics and how you kind of measure escalation risk. It is a very concerning situation. I’m very confident
