CONFLICT
Israël zegt hooggeplaatste Hezbollah-commandant te hebben gedood in Beiroet
July 31, 2024 - An Israeli strike in southern Beirut on Tuesday killed Fuad Shukr, identified by the Israeli military as Lebanese armed group Hezbollah’s most senior commander.
It was the latest in a string of targeted Israeli killings in Lebanon since October, when hostilities broke out between Hezbollah and Israel's military in parallel with the Gaza war.
Shukr has been one of Hezbollah’s leading military figures since it was established by Iran's Revolutionary Guards more than four decades ago.
The United States accused Shukr of playing a central role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 U.S. military personnel, and had put a bounty of up to $5 million on his head, according to the U.S. government’s Rewards for Justice website.
He was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2015 over Hezbollah’s role in helping Syria’s army. Israel said he was the right-hand man of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and that he was responsible for an attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 youths. Hezbollah denied any role, Reuters said.
- Israel’s targeted killings in Lebanon since Gaza war began (Reuters)
- Israel claims it killed senior Hezbollah commander in strike on Beirut (BBC)
- Israel claims to kill Hezbollah senior commander in Beirut strike (Reuters)
- Israeli military says Beirut strike killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr (BBC)