Blast in Beirut attributed to Israeli strike
A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke could be seen rising late on Tuesday above the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, a stronghold of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
The IDF said that it carried out a targeted strike in Beirut on the commander responsible for the murder of 12 children in the Druze village of Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians, who has been named as senior Hezbollah commander Hajj Mohsin, also known as Fuad Shukr. It is not known whether Mohsin was killed in the attack, which took place in the vicinity of Hezbollah's Shura Council. But sources told the Al-Hadath news channel that two people were killed in the attack.
No further response is expected by Israel.
The IDF also said that there are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines for civilians.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented on the attack, saying: "Hezbollah crossed the red line."
According to the Al Jadeed media outlet Israeli fighter jets attacked the Dahieh quarter of the city, a Hezbollah stronghold. Ambulances were seen making their way to the scene of the attack. According to "media close to Hezbollah," a commander in the organization was eliminated.
The city has been on edge for days ahead of an anticipated Israeli attack in retaliation for the deadly strike that murdered 12 children in Majdal Shams, a Druze village on the Golan Heights
It is the most significant assassination in the war in the north, and it is the equivalent of killing the head of the military wing of Hamas, Muhammad Deif in Gaza, and he is, in fact, the closest person to Nasrallah. Shukr is the second most important person in Hezbollah, and is also the commander of all the strategic formations of Hezbollah. It is not clear how the terror group will react to the strike.
During the cabinet meeting on Monday to approve the operation, government ministers were not informed about the target, and they were not told details of the target immediately before the operation was carried out for fear of leaks.
Israel and the United States have blamed Hezbollah for the attack on Majdal Shams. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.
Earlier on Tuesday, a civilian was killed by a direct hit from a rocket in Kibbutz Goshrim in the Upper Galilee, three days after the massacre.
Fuad Shukr was Nasrallah's military adviser
In 2017, the United States offered a reward of $5 million for the capture of Fuad Shukr, the target of the attack in Beirut. An investigation published that year shed light on the activities of the man who worked for the terrorist organization for more than 30 years.
Shukr's entry onto the U.S. State Department's wanted list was made because he was considered a senior adviser to the organization's secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, on military matters. Shukr served as the organization's first-in-command in southern Lebanon and at the same time as a member of the senior military body, the Jihad Council.
He was born in Baalbek in Lebanon, and is known as "Hajj Mohsin." The Americans claim that he played a central role in attacking the U.S. Marines in Beirut in 1983, in which 241 American soldiers were murdered.