Israel Army: Hezbollah commander "eliminated" in attack

According to the army, the high-ranking commander of the Shia militia Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, was "eliminated" in an Israeli attack on a house in a suburb of Lebanon's capital Beirut.

Israeli media reported his death. A spokesman for the Israeli military confirmed that Shukr had been killed. There has been no confirmation from Hezbollah so far.

According to the army, Israeli fighter jets took out Shukr in a "targeted, intelligence-supported elimination". The army previously reported that it had targeted a commander of the Shia militia Hezbollah in southern Beirut. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least three people were killed in the attack. A further 74 people were injured.

Shukr had served as the right-hand man of Hibsollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and was his advisor for the planning and management of war operations, according to the army. He had also coordinated Hezbollah's attacks on Israel since October 7. Shukr was also responsible for the rocket attack on the Druze village of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights annexed by Israel three days ago, which left twelve dead. Independent verification of this information is currently not possible.

After at least twelve people were killed in a rocket attack in the Druze village of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights annexed by Israel on Saturday, the Israeli government announced a retaliatory strike. It holds Hezbollah responsible for the attack. The Shiite militia rejected the blame. It had nothing to do with the attack, it declared several times.

Shukr is considered a close advisor to Hezbollah Secretary-General 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. The US authorities have offered a reward of five million dollars (4.6 million euros) for information about Shukr.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been repeated confrontations between Israel's army and militant groups such as Hezbollah in the Israeli-Lebanese border region. According to its own statements, the Shiite militia is acting in solidarity with Hamas: it does not want to 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.