Airstrike on Beirut; Israel Claims Senior Hezbollah Commander Killed

The Israeli army announced that it has eliminated Fouad Shukr, one of Hezbollah's commanders, in an airstrike on Beirut. Hours before this announcement, a senior Lebanese security source stated that Israel targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday evening. An eyewitness told Reuters that a loud explosion was heard and a column of smoke was seen over the Hezbollah armed group's base. Lebanese media reports indicate that Israel targeted the area around Hezbollah's Consultative Council in the 'Haret Hreik' neighborhood of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. The Israeli army claims that the attack targeted a command responsible for the killing of 12 children and teenagers in a soccer field in the Golan Heights. According to the Israeli army's statement, Fouad Shukr was killed in this attack. A rocket attack on Saturday on a village in the Golan Heights resulted in the deaths of 12 children and teenagers. At that time, Israel pointed the finger at Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group, emphasizing that it would respond to this attack. Meanwhile, Hezbollah denies its responsibility for the attack on the Druze village of Majdal Shams. Yoav Galant, Israel's Defense Minister, wrote in a message on X following the Israeli Air Force's 'targeted' airstrike on Lebanon on Tuesday, August 1, that the armed group Hezbollah crossed a 'red line' by attacking Majdal Shams. Beirut had been on high alert for days before the anticipated Israeli retaliation for the attack on the Golan Heights, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of youths. Despite the Israeli army's announcement, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP that Fouad Shukr, the group's senior commander who leads operations against Israel in southern Lebanon, survived the Israeli attack on the group's base in southern Beirut. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, stated: 'Shukr, who operates under the alias Mohsen Shukr, survived the Israeli attack.' He added that this commander is 'responsible for commanding military operations in southern Lebanon,' where the group has exchanged fire with Israel almost daily since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October. Nasser Kanani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, reacted to this attack on Tuesday evening, stating that he considers it a 'gross violation of international laws and the UN Charter.' Kanani further deemed the response of the 'army' and Iran-backed groups in Lebanon as a 'legitimate right' and stated that he holds Israel and the US responsible for 'escalating tensions and crises in the region.' Reuters also reported, citing three security sources, that the target of the attack in the Dahiyeh was 'Fouad Shukr,' the commander of Hezbollah's operations room. Other news agencies have confirmed the same name, but Hezbollah claims that 'Israel has failed in the assassination of this senior commander.' Lebanese media report that in the Dahiyeh attack, one woman was killed and seven others were injured. The Israeli newspaper 'Yedioth Ahronoth' reported that Israel is not seeking further attacks on the Dahiyeh. 'Fouad Shukr,' nicknamed 'Haj Mohsen,' was born in 1962 in Nabi Sheet, a suburb of Baalbek, Lebanon. He has been a member of Hezbollah for over 30 years and currently serves as a senior military advisor to Hassan Nasrallah, the group's secretary-general, and commander of Hezbollah's operations room. 'Haj Mohsen' is also the first commander of Hezbollah operations in southern Lebanon and a member of the highest military body of the group known as the 'Jihad Council.' Fouad Shukr, who temporarily commands Hezbollah's missile unit, is considered a close associate of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's military commander who was killed in a car bomb in Damascus in 2007. The name 'Fouad Shukr' is listed on the US State Department's terrorist list, and a reward has been offered for information about him. In response to this latest attack on Beirut, the US State Department announced on Tuesday that the United States will continue its diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Vedant Patel, Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department, said at a press briefing: 'We continue to work towards a diplomatic solution that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return home and live in peace and security. We certainly want to avoid any escalation of the situation.' Patel refrained from commenting on the attack in the 'Haret Hreik' neighborhood of Beirut, stating that 'this event has just occurred.' He reiterated that US support for Israel is 'ironclad' because 'this Jewish state faces threats from Iran and its malevolent proxy groups like Hezbollah.' He added that 'Israel has every right to defend itself' and 'is certainly facing threats that no other country in that region of the world is facing.' Diplomatic efforts: Five informed sources told Reuters on Monday that the US and several other countries have been making extensive diplomatic efforts in recent days to dissuade Israel from attacking Beirut and Lebanon's civilian infrastructure in response to the attack on Saturday in the Golan Heights. A senior Hezbollah official told Reuters that the group has rejected foreign countries' requests to refrain from responding to Israel's retaliatory attack and will respond to any attack. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during a visit to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, said at a press conference: 'We remain concerned about the potential for escalation of hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border into a full-scale war. But I don't believe that war is inevitable. We seek to resolve this issue diplomatically.' The French President also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to prevent escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. According to the French presidential office, Mr. Macron emphasized Paris's full commitment to efforts to 'prevent new tensions in the region by conveying messages to all parties involved.' Earlier on Monday, a German government spokesperson stated that the government of Germany urges all parties in the Middle East conflict, especially Iran, to prevent escalation of tensions following the attack on the Golan Heights. Britain has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and warned that hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border could escalate rapidly. Two Israeli officials told Reuters on Monday that the country aims to deal a severe blow to Hezbollah but does not seek to drag the Middle East into a full-scale war. Due to heightened tensions and Israeli airstrikes in recent days, some flights at Beirut Airport have been canceled or delayed. An Israeli civilian was killed on Tuesday, August 1, as a result of rocket fire from Lebanon before the Israeli airstrike on the 'Haret Hreik' neighborhood in southern Beirut. Reports also indicate that exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which began at midnight, continued on Tuesday. The Israeli army stated that on Tuesday, 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon, one of which hit Kibbutz Hagoshrim. Medical sources in northern Israel reported that a 30-year-old man was killed by shrapnel. The Israeli army added in its statement that during the previous night, it attacked about 10 Hezbollah positions, resulting in at least one militant from the group being killed. Hezbollah confirmed the death of one of its militants and stated in its statement that the group's air defense fired at Israeli fighter jets involved in the previous night's attacks, forcing them to retreat. An Israeli army spokesperson expressed ignorance about this matter. Over the course of about 10 months since the onset of hostilities along the Israel-Lebanon border, tens of thousands of residents in border areas of both countries have been displaced. Statistics compiled by Reuters based on statements from responsible agencies in both countries, the Israeli army, and Hezbollah indicate that in Lebanon, over 100 civilians and about 350 Hezbollah militants have been killed. In Israel, including casualties from the attack on Saturday in the Golan Heights and the rocket attack on Tuesday, a total of 24 civilians and at least 17 military personnel have been killed. Since the surprise attack by the extremist group Hamas on Israeli territory on October 7, hostilities between the Israeli army and Hezbollah have continued almost without interruption. Hezbollah, which initiated these hostilities by firing towards northern Israel, claims that its attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. The US and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist group. So far, these hostilities have been limited to the Israel-Lebanon border and surrounding areas, and both sides have indicated in various ways that they do not seek a full-scale war.