By Israel’s military has announced that it killed a Hezbollah official, Fuad Shukr, in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) blamed Shukr for a recent attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 young people.
The IDF stated that Shukr “was the commander responsible for the murder of the 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday evening, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years.”
An Israeli official told NBC News that the strike targeted Shukr, also known as Hajj Mohsen, in a suburb of southern Beirut. Mohsen was a senior adviser to Hezbollah’s supreme leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and a member of the group’s military council, according to a U.S. government profile.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, “Shukr has the blood of many Israelis on his hands. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end.”
Hezbollah has denied responsibility for Saturday’s rocket attack on the Golan Heights, which struck a soccer field and killed at least 12 people, mostly children and teenagers from the minority Druze community.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that the Israeli strike in Beirut killed a woman and injured up to 68 other people, with five in critical condition. Al Manar, a Hezbollah-run television station, reported that Israel “launched an aerial aggression that targeted the southern suburb of Beirut,” using a drone to fire three missiles in the Haret Hreik area, a Hezbollah stronghold.
This strike marks a significant escalation in the ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been exchanging fire since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. It is also the first time Israel has struck Beirut since January, when an airstrike killed Saleh Arouri, a top Hamas official.
The IDF claimed that Shukr joined Hezbollah in 1985 and was the head of the group’s Strategic Unit, responsible for weaponry including missiles, rockets, and drones.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson, when asked about the strike, stated that they defer to Israel “to speak to its own military operations” but support its right to defend itself. The spokesperson added, “Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah, and we are working on a diplomatic solution that will allow citizens to safely return to their homes.”
The situation remains tense, with fears that the ongoing exchanges could escalate into a broader regional conflict.
Source: NBC News
