Israel launched an airstrike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut Tuesday — killing a Hezbollah commander accused in the slaughter of 12 children in a rocket attack over the weekend.
The Israeli military confirmed in an X post that it had taken out Fuad Shukr in the strike, Hezbollah’s “most senior military commander” who is believed to be responsible for Saturday’s massacre at a soccer field in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights.
IDF said Shukr had “directed Hezbollah’s attacks” against Israel since Oct. 8, and had killed “numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years.
“The IDF carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the murder of children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians,” they wrote in a statement announcing the airstrike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a “swift, harsh and painful” response to the vicious rocket attack by Hezbollah, which also injured 40 civilians.
“These children are our children … The state of Israel will not, and cannot, let this pass,” he said. “Our response will come and it will be harsh.”
Several others injured in Tuesday’s strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area known as a stronghold for the Iran-backed terror group.
The attack consisted of three missiles launched from an aerial drone, according to NNA, Lebanon’s state news agency.
Flights to Beirut airport were canceled starting Monday amid fears of disruptions caused by Israel’s retaliatory strike.
Since the attack on the soccer field Israeli forces have conducted several airstrikes in southern Lebanon, including a drone attack Monday that reportedly killed two Hezbollah operatives.
IDF followed that strike with additional barrages that destroyed several of the Islamist extremist group’s weapons caches, as well as infrastructure in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has denied any role in the attack.
