Israeli military says it killed 'right-hand man to Hezbollah leader' in retaliatory strike on Beirut suburb

The Israeli military has claimed to have killed a senior commander of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, in a retaliatory strike on Beirut.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it targeted Fuad Shukr - who served as the right-hand man to Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah - in the strike on Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik.

However, the head of Hezbollah's operations centre claimed Shukr had survived the attack intended to kill him, but was critically injured.

The IDF claimed the senior commander was "responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams" - referring to the rocket attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed a dozen children and teenagers on Saturday.

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Israel blamed Hezbollah for the attack but the Lebanese militant group has continually denied being responsible.

After Tuesday's strike, Israel's defence minister Yoav Gallant posted on social media platform X that Shukr has "the blood of many Israelis on his hands".

"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," he said.

Three people - a woman and two children - are believed to have died in the strike and 74 have been injured, five of whom are in a critical condition, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Speaking from the scene in Beirut, Sky News' special correspondent Alex Crawford said the suburb is a densely populated Hezbollah stronghold.

She said there is a strong army presence in the area.

"There is a fair amount of fire and a fair number of other buildings that have been impacted," Crawford said.

Who is Fuad Shukr?

Shukr has been one of Hezbollah's leading military figures since the group was established by Iran's Revolutionary Guards more than four decades ago.

One of the founding members of the militant group, he was a friend of late military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in Damascus in 2008, according to Hezbollah sources.

The US said Shukr, who is believed to be in his 60s, played a central role in the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, which killed 241 US military personnel.

A reward of up to $5m was offered for any information about Shukr, according to the US government's Rewards for Justice website.

Response to the Beirut strike

Condemning the strike on Beirut, Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati said it was a "criminal act".

The country's foreign minister Abdallah Bouhabib added that the government planned to file a complaint to the United Nations.

He told the Reuters news agency he hoped any response by Hezbollah would not trigger an escalation.

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The White House added that it does not believe war between Hezbollah and Israel is inevitable - having driven a diplomatic response to try and prevent Israel from retaliating after the football pitch attack.

Meanwhile, Russia said the strike on Lebanon is a "flagrant violation of international law," Russian news agency Tass reported.

Iran also said it strongly condemned the strike, calling it "sinful and cowardly Israeli aggression".

Hamas - the group responsible for the 7 October attack on Israel - also spoke out against the strike, saying it was a "dangerous escalation".

Could strike lead to further escalation?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed heavy retaliation against Hezbollah at the weekend.

And Tuesday's strike will not help fears that broader escalation will break out in the region.

Britons have already been urged to leave Lebanon and avoid travel to the country, as Foreign Secretary David Lammy said events were "fast moving" and Foreign Office staff were working "round the clock" to help ensure the safety of UK citizens.

"This is the tinderbox situation, which could explode into regional war," Alex Crawford said from Beirut.

"No one is taking any guesses right now over whether that is going to be able to be contained."

Speaking about Hezbollah's denial over the Golan Heights attack, Crawford said it is "out of kilter" for the armed group to not take responsibility for an attack, even if it had made a mistake.

In an interview with Sky News earlier this week, Lebanon's foreign minister Mr Bouhabib warned Israel against mounting widespread attacks on the country.

He said: "Most of the fighting is going to be with Hezbollah… but it will be supported by most Lebanese, not because we like war but because Israel is attacking Lebanon and we cannot accept it."