Israeli Strike Kills Hezbollah Leader, Russia Threatens Ukraine

THE WAR NEWSLETTER — SEP 20, 2024

Good morning.

Welcome to your daily international conflict briefing.

First time reading? Sign up here to get our daily warfare updates.

Today’s updates:

1. 🇮🇱 Israeli strike kills senior terrorist commander

2. 🇺🇦 Russia threatens “consequences” if Ukraine attacks Belarus

1 - ISRAEL

Today, Israeli forces successfully killed a top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil. Aqil has been wanted by the U.S. for his extreme terrorist activities since as far back as April 1983, when he participated in an bombing attack on the U.S. embassy in Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 63 people, 17 of them Americans. 

Later the same year, on October 23, 1983, Aqil was part of another attack, the U.S. Marine Corps barracks bombing in Beirut, which killed 241 U.S. Military personnel. Aqil was acting as head of terrorist group Hezbollah’s military operations.

The strike that took out Aqil was a special airstrike against a meeting of senior Hezbollah officials in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. At least 10 other senior Hezbollah officials were killed in the strike, which destroyed two residential buildings in southern Beirut. 66 other people were injured in the strike.

Read more on Axios or Times Of Israel

Is this newsletter useful? If you’ve enjoyed having useful, curated news in The War Newsletter, please take a moment to forward this to a friend.

2 - UKRAINE

Russian leader Putin warned of "disastrous consequences" if Ukraine moves against Belarus, following Ukraine's recent incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Belarus announced troop deployments to its Ukrainian border, though Ukraine denies having any plans to attack.

The European Union has begun directing proceeds from frozen Russian assets to the Ukrainian defense industry, and several countries - including Germany, Italy, and Latvia - announced new aid packages for Ukraine. U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine have decreased due to stockpile concerns.

Russian forces have also launched counterattacks in western Kursk Oblast, recapturing several villages and threatening Ukraine's recent territorial gains. Simultaneously, Russian troops continue to advance in eastern Donetsk province. 

Read more on DSM, Kyiv Independent, or Reuters

P.S. If you have a source, tip, or piece of information we missed, please reply to this email and tell us about it. Thank you!