Israel says it killed a Hezbollah commander in Beirut it blames for a deadly strike
BEIRUT, Lebanon, and TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel says its forces killed a top Hezbollah commander in a targeted strike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, in retaliation for a deadly weekend rocket attack in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
In a statement late Tuesday, Israel's military said "Israeli Air Force fighter jets eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist organization's most senior military commander and the head of its Strategic Unit, Fuad Shukr 'Sayyid Muhsan,' in the area of Beirut."
Calling him a "right-hand man" to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the statement said Fuad Shukr was responsible for operations including the attack that killed 12 children and teenagers and wounded several people on Saturday in Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia and political movement supported by Iran, has denied involvement in Saturday's Majdal Shams attack.
Israel did not say how it determined the Hezbollah commander was killed or provide evidence of his death. Hezbollah has not commented on Tuesday's strike in Beirut or whether Shukr died.
A large explosion ripped through the streets of southern Beirut Tuesday evening after Israeli forces struck an apartment building, leaving it partially collapsed. Police closed off the roads and an ambulance wailed its way to the area. People were shouting, “My family was inside, my family is inside!” as they ran toward the explosion.
Israel had made it clear that it would retaliate for Saturday's rocket attack it blamed on Hezbollah. "Hezbollah crossed the red line," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on X Tuesday.
The strike came as the international community has been urging restraint from both sides, fearing that an escalation on the Israel-Lebanon border could spark an all-out war.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: "Our aim is not for war, but we are well-prepared for it."
He added that Israel is "in continuous dialogue" with the United States and its military, "especially tonight."
The United States says Israel has a right to defend itself against threats from Hezbollah, while diplomacy is also needed to resolve conflicts in the region.
“Israel has a right to defend itself and I unequivocally support Israel's right to remain secure and to defend the security of Israel,” Vice President Harris said after landing in Atlanta for an election campaign trip.
“What we know in particular is it has a right to defend itself against a terrorist organization, which is exactly what Hezbollah is. 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,” she said.
On Monday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, "We don't want to see the war escalate" and "to see a second front" open up between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. “What we want to do and what we're still focused on is finding a diplomatic solution here to reduce the tensions,” he said.
U.S. diplomats believe the best way to defuse the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict is to reach a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since the war in Gaza began on Oct. 7 of last year, after the Hamas-led attack on Israel. The Israel-Hezbollah fighting has largely remained confined to targets near the border.
In January, Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a strike in Beirut that was widely blamed on Israel, but that the Israeli military did not confirm or deny.
Kat Lonsdorf and Hadeel Al-Shalchi reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Jane Arraf and Jawad Rizkallah reported from Beirut.
Transcript
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Israel says it carried out an airstrike on Beirut earlier today. The Israeli military said it killed a top Hezbollah commander. They blame him for a rocket attack over the weekend that killed 12 children in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Lebanon's border. The Iranian-backed militant group had denied responsibility for the strike. The attack follows warnings from the U.S. and other countries over the past two days for citizens to leave Lebanon while they still can. Fears have grown that a cycle of retaliation could trigger an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel. To explain what is going on right now, NPR's Jane Arraf joins us now from Beirut. Hi, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so what do we know about this explosion and who the target might have been?
ARRAF: Well, it was an airstrike, midevening, that collapsed a building in Beirut's southern suburbs. The blast was loud enough that people in central Beirut, miles away, could hear it. Israel says it killed what it called Hezbollah's chief of staff. It said Fuad Shukr was one of the group's most senior commanders, close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It said he was responsible for most of Hezbollah's most advanced weaponry.
Hezbollah hasn't confirmed he was killed. Lebanese reports here are quoting unnamed officials close to the group who are saying he survived. For someone of that level, they normally do announce deaths, but they just have not issued a statement at this point.
CHANG: Oh, OK. Well, we know that there have been warnings from Israeli officials that they could attack Beirut, but how much of a shock was this today?
ARRAF: It was a pretty big one. You know, this morning, we were at the Beirut International Airport, talking to passengers to see if anyone was taking advice from the U.S. and other countries to leave Lebanon while they still could. And there was no sense of panic. Lebanese and foreigners who live here are kind of used to a certain constant level of threat, but it's different when there's an actual strike.
Our producer, Jawad Rizkallah, was in a cafe in central Beirut when he heard the thud. When he got to the southern suburbs, where security was blocking the roads...
JAWAD RIZKALLAH, BYLINE: Here we're at the - the street has been closed off in the direction of the building that has been destroyed. And an ambulance has just arrived, and they're not allowing anyone to pass.
ARRAF: You can hear the ambulances, the speeding cars, the chaos.
CHANG: Yeah.
ARRAF: The collapsed building contained a meeting place - sort of a boardroom for Hezbollah commanders. But the building was also in a densely populated neighborhood. We still don't have confirmed reports of the numbers of dead, although initial reports said possibly one or two, and more than a dozen people were injured.
CHANG: Hmm. Well, has Hezbollah made any comment on the attack and what its own response might be?
ARRAF: Well, the real response everyone is awaiting is what Hezbollah does militarily. It denied that it launched the strike that killed the children on the weekend - members of the Druze minority in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. But it has also made clear repeatedly that it will respond in kind to any Israeli attack in Beirut. It's difficult to see that an attack of this magnitude, killing someone that senior, would go unanswered.
CHANG: Right. That is NPR's Jane Arraf in Beirut. Thank you, Jane.
ARRAF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad