In retaliation for a rocket attack, Israel bombards a house in a Beirut suburb where it suspects a high-ranking Hezbollah leader is hiding. It is still unclear whether it kills him. However, there are civilian casualties.
Three days after a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights, Israel carried out a “targeted attack” on a commander of the Shiite militia Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, the Israeli army reported. An eight-story building in a suburb of the city was badly hit – and several surrounding houses were badly damaged.
Israel’s military said that the attack by fighter jets had “taken out” high-ranking commander Fuad Shukr. Hezbollah has not yet confirmed this. Lebanese circles, however, said that he was only seriously injured. There is no confirmed information available so far.
Three dead and 74 injured civilians
The Lebanese Ministry of Health reports that three civilians were killed in the attack: a woman and two children. In addition, 74 other people were injured, five of whom are still in critical condition. The ministry also said that it is continuing to search for missing people. The injured are being treated in nearby hospitals.
“Fuad Shukr was the commander responsible for the Majdal Shams massacre,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said after the attack. “Twelve children were murdered after Hezbollah fired an Iranian Falak-1 rocket directly at a soccer field in northern Israel on Saturday evening.” Israel and the USA blame the Lebanese Hezbollah militia for the deadly attack, but the latter denied any responsibility.
Criticism from Iran, support from the USA
The Israeli attack was sharply criticized by Hezbollah supporter Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani spoke of a “vicious and criminal action.” The UN special representative for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said she was “deeply concerned” about the attack. There is no military solution to the conflict.
The US State Department describes Shukr as a “senior military commander of the group’s forces in southern Lebanon” who played “a key role in Hezbollah’s recent military operations in Syria.” According to US sources, Shukr played a key role in a 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed more than 200 US Marines. In 2017, Washington put a five million dollar (4.62 million euros) bounty on Shukr and another Hezbollah commander.
US Vice President Kamala Harris said of the attack that Israel had “the right to defend itself against a terrorist organization, and that is exactly what Hezbollah is.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant had previously written on the online platform X: “Hezbollah has crossed a red line.” According to rescue workers, a civilian had already been killed in a rocket attack on northern Israel that afternoon. There had previously been a rocket alert in towns on the border with Lebanon.
Israel had announced a retaliatory strike
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 also reached in Gaza.
Numerous civilians were killed in both Israel and Lebanon. Tens of thousands of residents left their homes on both sides of the border. It is the most serious escalation since the second Lebanon war in 2006.
Transparency note: This article has been updated several times.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
