Army: Israel attacks Hezbollah commander

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Lerato Khumalo

After a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights, Israel announced retaliation. The Israeli military has now responded. The target was a high-ranking Hezbollah commander.

Three days after a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights, Israel targeted a high-ranking commander of the Shiite militia Hezbollah in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Israeli army reported this. A strong explosion was heard in the south of Beirut beforehand.

The military said the commander was responsible for the deaths of the twelve children and young people hit in the rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams last Saturday, as well as other Israeli civilians. It was not immediately clear whether the commander was killed in the attack.

According to various media reports and Lebanese security circles, the target is said to be Fuad Shukr. He is considered a close advisor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and is one of the highest military commanders in the movement. According to the US government, he is a member of Hezbollah’s highest military body. Since 2017, he has also been wanted by US authorities for involvement in an attack on US troops in Beirut in 1983.

Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant reacted on the online platform X and wrote: “Hezbollah has crossed a red line.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially did not comment on the attack in Beirut. However, a few minutes after the attack, his office released a photo showing the head of government with his national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and other officials at a briefing.

After the deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights that killed 12 people, an Israeli retaliatory strike was expected. Demands for a rapid response also increased after a rocket attack on northern Israel on Tuesday afternoon, in which, according to rescue workers, one civilian was killed. There had also been several rocket alerts in towns on the border with Lebanon.

The Lebanese news agency NNA reported a “hostile attack” in the Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik. The Hezbollah-affiliated television station Al-Manar showed images of chaotic scenes. At least four buildings were damaged in the attack.

As seen on TV, people on the street shouted: “God bless Nasrallah.” Others shouted: “Netanyahu will pay the price.” Eyewitnesses reported that the attack targeted an eight-story building. According to them, the top floor was hit.

After at least twelve people were killed in a rocket attack on Saturday in the Druze town of Majdal Shams on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the Israeli government announced a retaliatory strike. It blamed Hezbollah for the attack. The Shiite militia denied responsibility. It said several times that it had nothing to do with the attack.

Since the beginning of the Gaza War, there have been repeated confrontations between the Israeli army and militant groups such as Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border region. The Shiite militia says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas: it will not stop its attacks until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. Numerous civilians have been killed in both Israel and Lebanon. Tens of thousands of residents have left their homes on both sides of the border. It is the most serious escalation since the second Lebanon War in 2006.