Israel claimed its Beirut strike in Lebanon killed the highest-ranking Hezbollah military commander blamed for the deadly attack in the Golan Heights.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that “Israeli Air Force fighter jets eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist organisation’s most senior military commander” Fuad Shukr. However, Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities have yet to confirm the death.
An Israeli strike on a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon killed at least three people and wounded 74 others, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a social media post that “Hezbollah crossed the red line” minutes after the Israeli military claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s retaliatory strike. Meanwhile, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed that “every dog shall have its day.”
The IDF said that Shukr, also known as al-Hajj Mohsin, “has directed Hezbollah’s attacks on the state of Israel since October 8, and he 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.”
We don’t want this to escalate into a wider war and ultimately whether this escalates or not very much depends on how Hezbollah reacts now.
Shukr is a senior adviser to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and serves on “the highest military body, the Jihad Council,” according to US government sources. The US State Department set a $5 million reward for information on him.
In September 2019, the State Department named him a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224,” more than four years after the US Treasury Department had imposed sanctions on Shukr and two other Hezbollah leaders.
Escalation grows
The Iranian Embassy in Lebanon condemned the Israeli strike on Beirut, calling it “cowardly and sinful Israeli aggression” that “claimed the lives of a number of martyrs and wounded.” The Iranian-backed Houthis and Hamas also denounced the Beirut attack, declaring solidarity with Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Israel vowed that Hezbollah would “pay the price” for a rocket attack on a football field that killed 12 children and injured 44 others in the town of Majdal Shams near the Syrian and Lebanese borders.
US Vice President Kamala Harris stated on Tuesday that “Israel has the right to defend itself” and supported that right.
But all of that being said, we still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks, and we will continue to do that work.
However, IDF chief spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari told a press conference on Tuesday that Israel was not seeking war, “but we are well-prepared for it.”
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Rashid Bouhabib said on Monday that an Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs or international airport “would surely lead to war.” Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has also repeatedly stated that any Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital would lead to a Hezbollah attack on Israel.
Hamas political leader killed
Meanwhile, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran. His death was confirmed in separate statements by the Palestinian group and Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Chinese authorities strongly condemned Haniyeh’s killing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
We pay great attention to this incident, strongly oppose [this] killing and condemn it.
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the killing, saying the incident “once again demonstrates that Israel’s Netanyahu government has no intention of achieving peace.”
[The] region will face much larger conflicts if [the] international community does not take action to stop Israel.
Turkey and Iran have already condemned the attack, but Israel and the US have yet to comment on the situation. Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tehran would make the “terrorists” who killed Haniyeh regret it.
