Israel attacked targets in Lebanon’s capital – claims top Hezbollah leader killed

Smoke rose from the scene of the attack in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday evening. The government in the country says three civilians have been killed – one woman and two children. In addition, Lebanon reports that 74 have been wounded, and the condition is said to be critical for several of them.

The Israeli military (IDF) says it was behind the attack and that it was aimed at the person responsible for the attack on the Golan Heights at the weekend.

The man’s name is Muhsin Shukr. He reportedly has a leadership responsibility for Hezbollah’s operations.

Conflicting information

During the evening there were conflicting reports as to whether Shukr was killed or not, but just after midnight local time the IDF stated that they killed Shukr in the attack.

The IDF reports that he was the right-hand man and military adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

– Fuad Shukr has led Hezbollah’s attack against Israel since 8 October, the IDF says.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on Tuesday evening on the messaging service X that Hezbollah crossed a red line with this weekend’s attack.

Apartment buildings and hospitals

Twelve children and young people were killed in the attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel believes there is no doubt that Hezbollah was behind this attack, although the militia itself has denied it. The attack hit the Arabic-speaking Druze minority hard.

In the suburbs of Beirut, several buildings were damaged in the Israeli attack. It hit an apartment building next to a hospital, according to the AP news agency. Half of the apartment building has collapsed, while the hospital suffered minor damage. Building debris and broken glass are strewn in the nearby streets.

The last time Israel attacked targets in Beirut was in January. This was the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since 2006.

– Sinful and cowardly

Lebanon’s state news agency reports that the attack on Tuesday was carried out by a drone that fired three rockets.

Iran’s embassy in Lebanon condemns what it calls a “sinful and cowardly” Israeli attack.

Lebanon also condemns the attack, according to the country’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib. He hopes that Hezbollah will come up with a “proportionate retaliation” so that the “wave of killings” can end.

However, Lebanon’s government does not control Hezbollah.

Damaged football field

The attack on the Golan Heights on Saturday hit a football field in the village of Majdal Shams, where the majority of Druze live. The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethnic and religious minority living in Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Most Druze in the Golan Heights are Syrian citizens. The Golan Heights have been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Hezbollah, which is a major power factor in Lebanon, is a close ally of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, Hezbollah and Israel have been in conflict for several decades.

Since the Gaza war broke out last year, the IDF and Hezbollah have fired at each other almost daily. Since the attack on the Golan Heights at the weekend, there have been fears that the conflict could develop into full-scale war.