Awad Shukr was the direct arm of Hassan Nasrallah, called Israel.
Jerusalem:
The Israeli military said its forces had “eliminated” Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr in the Beirut area on the third day, accusing him of being responsible for a fire attack on the Gola hills it annexed.
“The Israeli Air Force's pursuit will eliminate the most senior military commander in the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the head of its strategic unit, Fouad Shukr, in the Beirut area,” the army said in a statement.
“Fuad Shukr is the commander responsible for the Majdal Shams massacre, including 12 children killed after Hezbollah fired an Iranian Falaq-1 cannon directly at a soccer field in northern Israel on Saturday night,” said military voice Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a separate video statement.
He added, “Fouad Shukr was the direct arm of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and his advisor in planning and directing attacks and operations.”
Hagari said Shukr was a “major terrorist who feared the blood of Israelis and many of his family members.”
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Shukr has directed Hezbollah attacks against Israel, and spoken out against the army.
He was responsible for most of Hezbollah's most advanced weapons, including precision-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and drones.
The military will allege that in the 1990s, the Hezbollah commander was “directly involved” in the kidnapping of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers — Benjamin Avraham, Adi Avitan, and Omar Sweid.
The three were killed by Hezbollah while on patrol near a security zone adjacent to the Har Dov settlement, and we discussed the military situation.
“Since then, he has planned and directed numerous terrorist attacks against innocent civilians,” he added.
Hagari said that Empora Israel finally wanted to open hostilities without any larger war like the Hezbollah war, as its forces were prepared “for any scenario.”
“The ongoing aggression and brutal attacks by Hezbollah are on the verge of dragging the Lebanese people and the entire Middle East into a wider escalation,” he said.
“We prefer to resolve the hostilities without a larger war, because the IDF is fully prepared for any scenario,” he added.
(Except that this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
