Hezbollah Confirms Fuad Shukr Killed in Israeli Strike

An Israeli attack that hit Beirut. (Twitter/@EretzIsrael)

BEIRUT - Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed Wednesday that its senior commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, making him the most senior figure from the group to be killed in nearly 10 months of conflict with Israel.

The strike hit the southern outskirts of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, at dusk on Tuesday. It was the second time the area has been hit since October, when Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire alongside the Gaza War.

The strike appeared to have blown off the top corner of a high-rise building and scattered charred debris over surrounding buildings and streets.

Shukr's body was found under the rubble late Wednesday, two Lebanese security sources said, nearly 24 hours after the strike.

At least two women and two children were also killed, medical and security sources said.

Meanwhile, Lebanese ministers and lawmakers visited the site on Wednesday.

Speaking from the rubble, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar condemned the attack on Dahiyeh as well as the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has not commented on Haniyeh's killing.

"This enemy (Israel) is demanding war and we are ready for it, God willing, we are ready for it," Ammar said, according to Reuters on August 1.

Hezbollah said Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah would deliver a speech on Thursday at Shukr's funeral.

Shukr was an adviser to Nasrallah, according to Hezbollah sources and the Israeli military's announcement of his killing.

Lebanon's cabinet held an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss the Beirut attack, issuing a statement read by Information Minister Ziad Makary.

Makary condemned the attack, saying retaliation by Hezbollah was anticipated but the government feared the situation could "evolve".

"Lebanon does not want war," he said, adding that the government would engage in diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions.

Earlier, the Israeli military announced late on Tuesday that it had killed Shukr, whom it described as Hezbollah's most senior commander and whom it blamed for a July 27 attack that killed dozens of young people in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Shukr "is stained with the blood of many Israelis. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people must be paid for, and that there is no place that is inaccessible to our forces for this purpose".

Iran-backed Hezbollah has denied involvement in the Golan attack.

The Beirut attack came hours before the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the early hours of Wednesday in Iran, in a development that has raised fears of a wider regional escalation. Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas.