Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander and target of an Israeli strike on Beirut, was said to be a close adviser to the group’s leader and someone wanted by the US govt for his role in a 1983 bombing attack that killed roughly 300 American and French soldiers in Beirut. Hezbollah confirmed on Wednesday that Israel had killed Shukr, also known by his nom de guerre al-Hajj Mohsin, in the strike.
Israeli military blamed Shukr for the assault in Golan Heights “and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians.” A senior Israeli military official said Shukr was a close confidant of Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader. After the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander, Mustafa Badreddine, in Syria in 2016, Shukr is said to have assumed some of his responsibilities.
Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general, described Shukr as “an experienced veteran” who had worked intensively to develop Hezbollah’s precision-guided missile apparatus. Analysts say the munitions are a particular concern for Israeli military planners. Shukr’s history with Hezbollah goes back decades. He played a key role in several of the group’s major milestones, said Matthew Levitt, an expert on Hezbollah at Washington Institute for Near East Policy.