The Israeli military said its warplanes “eliminated” Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in the Beirut area on Tuesday, accusing him of being responsible for rocket attacks on the occupied Golan Heights.
“Israeli Air Force fighter jets killed Fuad Shukr, the most senior military commander of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and head of its tactical unit, in the Beirut area,” the army said in a statement.
“Fuaad Shukr was the commander responsible for the Majdal Shams massacre, in which 12 children were killed after Hezbollah fired Iranian Falak-1 rockets at a soccer field in northern Israel on Saturday evening,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a separate video statement.
“Fua’ad Shukr was Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s right-hand man and his adviser in planning and directing attacks and operations.”
Hagari said Shukar was a “senior terrorist whose hands are stained with the blood of Israelis and many others”.
The army said Shukar had directed Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
It said he was responsible for most of Hezbollah’s advanced weapons, including precision-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets and UAVs.
The army said the Hezbollah commander was “directly involved” in the abduction of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers – Benjamin Abraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Sawaid – in the 1990s.
The army said the three were killed by Hezbollah while they were patrolling the security fence near Hardov.
“Since then, he has planned and directed numerous terrorist attacks against innocent civilians,” it said.
Hagari said that although Israel wanted to end hostilities with Hezbollah without a full-blown war, its forces were prepared for “any scenario.”
“Hezbollah’s continued aggression and brutal attacks are pushing the people of Lebanon and the entire Middle East toward greater tension,” he said.
“Although we prefer to resolve hostilities without a full-blown war, the IDF (Israeli military) is fully prepared for any scenario.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
