Israel on Tuesday carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed the Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander’s death.
ADVERTISEMENTIsrael said it targeted a Hezbollah commander in a rare strike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, in a strike that killed at least one woman and wounded dozens more.
The attack comes amidst escalating hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese paramilitary Hezbollah group.
Israel said the strike was aimed at the commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 youths in a weekend rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, and that he was killed in the attack.
“This evening, the IDF carried out a targeted strike in Beirut on Fouad Shukur, also known as Sayved Mohsen, Hezbollah’s most senior military commander and the head of its strategic unit,” Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Fouad Shukur was the right-hand man to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader and his adviser in planning and directing attacks and operations.”
Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander's death, and it was not immediately clear whether he was hit.
Lebanon’s public health ministry said that the strike in a southern suburb of the capital killed one woman and injured 68, some of them seriously.
The wounded were taken to nearby hospitals – with the public called upon to donate blood.
The Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati posted on X that “this criminal act that took place tonight is a link in a series of aggressive operations that claim civilians in clear violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”
“This is something we place in the direction of the international community, which must bear its responsibility and press with all force to oblige Israel to stop its aggression and threats and implement international resolutions.”
The attack was condemned by officials from Iran and Syria, with Iran’s embassy in Lebanon describing the attack as “sinful and cowardly.”
The IDF and Hezbollah have been exchanging near-daily strikes for the past ten months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza but had previously kept the conflict at a level that would not escalate into full-on war.