Who Is Fuad Shukr, Target of the Israeli Strike on Beirut?
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 U.S. government for his role in a 1983 bombing attack that killed roughly 300 American and French soldiers in Beirut.
A photo of Fuad Shukr, from a wanted poster released by the U.S. State Department.Credit…Rewards for Justice, via Associated Press
It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Shukr, also known by his nom de guerre al-Hajj Mohsin, survived the Israeli assassination attempt.
The Israeli military blamed Mr. Shukr for an assault on Saturday that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights “and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians.”
A senior Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said Mr. 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, Mr. Shukr assumed some of his responsibilities, said the officials and two experts on the armed group.
The State Department has posted a bounty of up to $5 million for information on Mr. Shukr’s location after the 1983 attack on the barracks in Beirut where American and French soldiers were stationed.
Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general, described Mr. 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.
Mr. 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 the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“He was part of the old guard,” said Mohanad Hage Ali, a Beirut-based fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, adding, “He’s a significant figure, for sure.”
Mr. Levitt said that, at different points, Mr. Shukr oversaw Hezbollah military operations in Israeli-occupied south Lebanon, from which Israel withdrew in 2000. He later played a senior role in commanding the group in Syria, and ultimately took one of the top spots in Hezbollah’s military leadership, Mr. Levitt said.
“It’s kind of run by committee, but Fuad Shukr is more or less first among equals,” he said, adding that Mr. Shukr reported directly to Mr. Nasrallah.
Ronen Bergmancontributed reporting.
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