Twelve children were killed by a rocket that struck a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Hezbollah would "pay a hefty price" for the attack and placed the blame for it on the Lebanese militant organisation.
The Israeli forces struck a building in southern Beirut on Tuesday night, 30 July, killing Fuad Shukr, the most senior military commander of the Hezbollah terror group, who Israel claimed was behind the deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams on Saturday. It appears that the prime minister kept his word.
Israel carried out a devastating attack on Tuesday night in Dahieh, a heavily populated Beirut suburb that is thought to be a Hezbollah stronghold. After hearing a loud explosion, neighbours saw a plume of smoke rising over the neighbourhood.
Later, the Israeli military claimed that fighter jets had carried out a "intelligence-based elimination" on Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
According to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Shukr "was the commander responsible for the murder of the 12 children in Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday evening, as well as the killing of numerous Israelis and foreign nationals over the years."
Israel's attack on Beirut is being interpreted as a retaliation for Hezbollah's rocket strike in the Golan Heights on Saturday. A blast struck a playing field in Majdal Shams, killing 12 children and young people from the minority Druze community.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for the attack, citing evidence that an Iranian-made rocket was fired from a short distance away in Lebanon. The U.S. also blamed Hezbollah for the attack. However, the Lebanese group denied being involved in the strike.
