Despite the flames that burned Dahieh in Beirut on Tuesday night, the citizens of Lebanon learned about the assassination of Hezbollah commander Faud Shukr from the Israeli media. "If you want to know what is really happening, even in Lebanon, you should turn on a TV channel or radio station in Israel. They provide a more detailed picture," said a senior economist in Lebanon, a Beirut resident.
The attack on Dahieh
(Video: Reuters)
The IDF claimed responsibility for the attack in response to the murder of the 12 children from Majdal Shams on Saturday. According to the reports, Israel attacked Faud Shukr, the head of the operations in Hezbollah known as Haj Mohsin. This is the highest-ranking target of the war in the north, parallel to the head of Hamas' military wing in Gaza, and the closest person to Nasrallah.
A Beirut resident said that the media in his country "stuttered" in delivering the information. "Al-Jazeera reporters were already in the field, but Israel beat them in reporting the story," he said.
Shukr, the target of the assassination, was a well-known figure in Beirut, and always tried to keep a low profile. "He knew that his name was on Israel's and America's hit lists and tried to avoid them. Even when he knew that Israel intended to take revenge for the terrible massacre in the Golan, he did not imagine that it would act in Dahieh," he said.
"Many were sure that the Air Force planes would bomb Tyre or Sidon. The government here in Lebanon tried to calm the IDF commanders and officials in the Mossad and the Israeli Defense Ministry. It even seemed as if Israel was holding back, and then there was the explosion, by surprise," the Beirut resident said.
The Lebanese claim that Iran will pressure Hezbollah to hold back. According to them, Hezbollah is not interested in a war against Israel, just firing rockets and preventing Israelis from living in their homes in the north. Other residents commented, "Israeli intelligence is working." They mentioned the fact that in Tel Aviv they identified who directed the rocket attack on Majdal Shams. "We constantly receive reminders that Israeli intelligence is located in Lebanon. Hezbollah also recognizes this fact," they said.