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By Tom O'Connor
Deputy Editor, National Security and Foreign Policy
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A Hezbollah official has told Newsweek that the group was prepared to respond to any Israeli operation conducted in retaliation for a deadly strike in an Israel-occupied town that has been blamed on the Lebanese movement.
"With all certainty, any attack will be met with a response," the Hezbollah spokesperson said. "No doubt about that."
The remarks came just as local media reported an explosion at the Hezbollah Shura Council building in southern Beirut on Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) then issued a statement claiming "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."
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The IDF later confirmed that the target was Fuad Shukr, also known as Hajj Mohsen or Sayyed Mohsen, described as a top adviser to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and head of the group's Strategic Unit. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm Shukr's death, while Lebanon's official National News Agency reported that multiple individuals were killed and a number wounded, some critically, in the Israeli strike.
Newsweek has reached out to the IDF for comment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed a day earlier to pursue "a severe response" to the apparent rocket attack on Saturday that Israeli officials said killed 12 children and teenagers at a soccer pitch in Majdal Shams, a majority-Druze village in the Golan Heights, which were seized by Israel amid war in 1967 and are still internationally recognized as part of Syria. Hezbollah denied any role in the attack, but both Israeli and U.S. officials have affirmed the group's responsibility.
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The strike on Majdal Shams is considered to be the deadliest against civilians since the attack led by the Palestinian Hamas movement against Israel last October sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip along with a campaign by Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance factions, including Hezbollah, against Israel. The Israel-Lebanon front has proven especially volatile in recent months, marking the worst cross-border violence since the Israel-Lebanon war of 2006.
Shortly after news broke of the Israeli strike in Beirut, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that "Hezbollah crossed the line."
After later revealing further details of the operation, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari warned that "Hezbollah's ongoing aggression and brutal attacks are dragging the people of Lebanon and the entire Middle East into a wider escalation."
"While we prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war, the IDF is fully prepared for any scenario," Hagari said. "We have a duty to ensure the safe and secure return of Israelis to their homes in northern Israel, and we will continue to act to defend all the people of Israel."
Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials have openly considered launching a new offensive into Lebanon to push Hezbollah north of the border region, drawing concern from the U.S. and warnings from Iran. The latest tensions have also prompted calls from the U.S. and a number of European nations for their citizens to leave Lebanon in anticipation of a potential crisis.
Speaking to reporters earlier Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he did not believe a war between Israel and Lebanon was "inevitable," but that U.S. officials "remain concerned about the potential of this escalating into a full-blown fight."
"As to whether or not Israel can manage a war in Gaza and a fight in Lebanon at the same time, Israel will do what it needs to defend itself, and it's demonstrated that time and again," Austin said. "We've committed to helping Israel defend itself for whatever it takes, and certainly that's not a scenario that we'd like to see occur. We'd like to see things resolve in a diplomatic fashion going forward."
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed U.S. hopes for a diplomatic resolution during a press briefing held after news of the Israeli strikes in Beirut broke on Tuesday. She said President Joe Biden's administration was "aware" of the Israeli attack but declined to offer an immediate reaction to it.
Hours later, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson stated the U.S. "commitment to Israel's security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Lebanese Hezbollah."
"Israel has a right to defend itself against the severe threats it faces," she statement said in the White House statement. "At the same time, the United States is continuing to work on a diplomatic solution to end these terrible attacks and allow citizens on both sides to safely return to their homes."
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned what he called a "vile and criminal act" that "will certainly not be able to prevent the proud children of the Lebanese nation and the proud resistance from continuing the honorable path of supporting the oppressed Palestinians and standing up against the aggressive temperament of the Israeli apartheid regime."
The attack came amid both the IDF and Hezbollah claiming new cross-border attacks on Tuesday, with Israeli officials saying another civilian was killed after rockets fired from southern Lebanon hit the northern Israeli kibbutz of HaGoshrim.
Hezbollah claimed to have targeted IDF barracks at Beit Hillel, located near HaGoshrim, with Katyusha rockets, as well at least five other operations on Tuesday, all said to have been conducted "in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their valiant and honorable resistance" and in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
That same day, the IDF said it had "struck approximately 10 Hezbollah terror targets in seven different areas in southern Lebanon" and had "eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Bayt Lif, and struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility, terror infrastructure sites, military structures, and a launcher in southern Lebanon."
The IDF also said it had faced dozens of projectiles and drones fired from southern Lebanon toward various sites at northern Israel throughout the day and had struck the sources of fire using jets and artillery.
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Meanwhile, in Gaza, the IDF withdrew from eastern Khan Younis after more than a week of heavy fighting. Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, shared combat footage Monday alongside remarks made earlier this month by Gallant in which the Israeli defense minister said Israel's tanks leaving the southern Gaza city of Rafah "can reach the Litani." The southern Lebanon river marks the boundary of Hezbollah's presence permitted under the U.N. resolution that brought an end to the 2006 conflict, though both sides have frequently accused one another of violating it.
In an accompanying message to Hezbollah, the Al-Qassam Brigades wrote, "these are Gallant's armored vehicles leaving Rafah, and we are sure you will complete the mission."
Hamas also condemned the Israeli attack on the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut in a separate statement Tuesday, calling it a "brutal Zionist aggression" and "dangerous escalation."
"We declare our full solidarity with brotherly Lebanon and our brothers in Hezbollah," Hamas said, "and we affirm that the arrogance of the occupation and its attempt to restore its lost prestige and deterrence by committing more crimes in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen and the Middle East will be nothing but an ill-considered adventure, for which the occupation will pay a heavy price, as the time when the occupation runs rampant in our countries and our Arab region has ended."
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
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