(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) The Israeli military announced that its fighter jets had "eliminated" Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in the Beirut area on Tuesday. They accused him of being responsible for a rocket strike on the annexed Golan Heights.
"Israeli air force fighter jets eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist organisation's most senior military commander and the head of its strategic unit, Fuad Shukr, in the area of Beirut," the military said in a statement.
"Fuad Shukr was the commander responsible for the Majdal Shams massacre, in which 12 children were murdered after Hezbollah fired an Iranian Falaq-1 rocket directly at a soccer field in northern Israel on Saturday evening," military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a separate video statement.
"Fuad Shukr was the right-hand man to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader and his advisor in planning and directing attacks and operations," he added.
Hagari described Fuad Shukr as a "senior terrorist with the blood of Israelis and many others on his hands."
The military stated that since the start of the Gaza war, Shukr had been directing Hezbollah's attacks on Israel. He was reportedly responsible for most of Hezbollah's advanced weaponry, including precision-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs.
Additionally, the military claimed that in the 1990s, Shukr was "directly involved" in the abduction of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers: Benyamin Avraham, Adi Avitan, and Omar Sawaid.
The military reported that the three soldiers were killed by Hezbollah while patrolling the security fence near Har Dov.
"Since then, he has planned and directed numerous terror attacks against innocent civilians," it said.
Hagari stated that while Israel sought to end hostilities without escalating into a wider conflict with Hezbollah, its forces were prepared for "any scenario."
"Hezbollah's ongoing aggression and brutal attacks are dragging the people of Lebanon and the entire Middle East into a wider escalation. While we prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war, the IDF (Israeli army) is fully prepared for any scenario," he said.
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