‘Nasrallah remains alone at the top’ – IDF reportedly strikes Hezbollah’s last top commander in Beirut

Contradictory reports on fate of Ali Karaki after strike in Beirut

Read this article in:

The Israeli Air Force carried out a targeted strike in Lebanon's capital of Beirut on Monday, with reports suggesting that Ali Karaki, the terror group’s last remaining high-ranking military leader, was the target.

Shortly after the strike, a Lebanese security official told Reuters that Karaki’s fate was still unclear.

“Within one week, it can be said that Nasrallah remains alone at the top,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in the evening.

Karaki is Hezbollah’s southern district commander, directing the group’s fighting against Israel over the past months. Two of his division commanders, as well as Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr, were already eliminated by the IDF

At the time of publication, there were contradictory reports about whether Karaki had survived the strike.

16 Hezbollah terrorist, were eliminated in yesterday’s strike, including Ibrahim Aqil.

12 of these terrorists made up the top of Hezbollah’s leadership, they were advancing terror attacks against Israelis and the deadly plan to “Conquer the Galilee” where Hezbollah would… pic.twitter.com/rVadHWGwOF
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) September 21, 2024

Karaki is also the last remaining veteran military member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council and had taken over additional responsibilities after the deaths of Shukr and Ibrahim Aqil.

Late Monday evening, Hezbollah released a statement contradicting reports that Karaki had been killed, saying he had been moved to a safe location.

"With regard to the claims of the Zionist enemy about the murder of brother Mujahid Ali Karaki, we confirm that the dear brother Mujahid, Commander Haj Ali Karaki, is in good condition and he, by the will of Almighty God, is safe and sound and has moved to safety," the statement said.

The IDF has rarely conducted attacks in Beirut, typically targeting the city only to eliminate high-ranking Hezbollah and Hamas commanders. In the latest strike, two of Hezbollah’s top commanders were killed, along with almost the entire command staff of its elite Radwan Unit.

The elimination of Fouad Shakar (July 30) achieved the quantum leap and in fact created a new standard as we recommended in principle at the beginning of July. The elimination of Ibrahim Aqil (Sept. 20) cemented the quantum leap and set the standard for continuing the elimination… pic.twitter.com/bZxMeM3dtF
— Israel-Alma (@IsraelAlmaorg) September 22, 2024

Gallant continued: “We determined a few weeks ago the transfer of the center of gravity of the IDF in the campaign from the southern sector to the northern sector, and the goal is to safely return the residents of the north to their homes.”

“The last week demonstrates well what I am talking about, Radwan's forces suffered the mortal blow of eliminating their entire top – the commanders of the sectors, the brigades, and the staff, headed by Aqil,” the defense minister stated.

“We took out whole units in the various divisions as a result of the activities that took place at the beginning of the week, in which a great many terrorists were wounded.”

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “I would like to clarify Israel's policy to whoever does not yet understand: We are not waiting for the threat, we are pre-empting it – everywhere, in every sector, constantly. We are eliminating senior figures, terrorists and missiles – and our arm is still extended.”