Israel Says It Has Killed Hezbollah’s Top Military Commander
‘BLOOD OF OUR PEOPLE’
Reuters TV
Israel says it has killed Hezbollah’s most senior military commander in an airstrike, part of a revenge plot for an attack that killed 12 young children. The Israel Defense Forces said it conducted a “targeted, intelligence-based elimination” in Beirut that took out Fuad Shukr, who “has the blood of many Israelis on his hands.” Israel claimed he is responsible for the initial attack this past weekend in the Golan Heights area of northern Israel. Witnesses told Reuters a blast was heard, followed by a large plume of smoke above Beirut’s southern suburbs. “Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, according to Reuters. Hezbollah is yet to comment and has denied it is responsible for the rocket strike attack on Saturday that took the lives of a dozen children. Israel said Shukr was known as Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s “right-hand man” and “adviser for planning and directing wartime operations.” According to CNN, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry, at least three people–two children and a woman–were also killed in the Israeli strike. British Airways, Delta and United Airlines have all cancelled flights to Israel starting tomorrow, according to i24 News.