Israel targets senior Hezbollah commander in strike on Beirut
IDF says Beirut attack a response to ' murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Israel has said it carried out a targeted strike in Beirut against the Hezbollah commander it said was responsible for last weekend’s deadly strike on the Druze village of Majdal Shams.
Reports said the strike had targeted the head of the armed group Hezbollah’s operations room, naming him as Muhsin Shukr, also known as Fuad Shukr.
It was unclear whether he was killed in the strike on suburb of the city known to be a stronghold for the Lebanese terror group at around 7:40 p.m. (1640 GMT).
Pro-Hezbollah channels later claimed he had survived, although two people were said to have died, and buildings collapsed.
“The IDF carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians,” Israel’s military said in a statement.
Lebanon’s state-run national news agency also said an Israeli strike had targeted the area around Hezbollah’s Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of the capital.
Earlier in the UK the escalation in fighting between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is “extremely concerning”, Downing Street said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “We are deeply concerned about the situation and the risk of further escalation and destabilisation.
“I think as the PM has said before, the situation on the northern border of Israel is extremely concerning, and we’re calling on all parties to de-escalate.
“We urge both the Israeli and Lebanese governments to engage with the US-led discussions to reach a political settlement and resolve these tensions diplomatically.”
The U.S. said it will continue pursuing diplomacy to avert an escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, the State Department said on Tuesday.
“We’re continuing to work toward a diplomatic resolution that would allow Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes and live in peace and security. We certainly want to avoid any kind of escalation,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a briefing.
Twelve people, aged between 10 and 20, were murdered and at least 38 wounded when a rocket struck near a football pitch in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights on Saturday evening.
Israel and the US firmly blamed Hezbollah for the shocking attack, but they denied responsibility.
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