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According to reports from Reuters and Russia's TASS, the Israeli military said it launched an airstrike on the suburbs of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on July 30, killing Fuad Shukr, a senior commander of Hezbollah. However, AFP quoted a Lebanese source as saying that the Israeli attack did not succeed and Shukr was not killed.

Buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut Source: Visual China

Reuters quoted an eyewitness as saying that at about 7:40 p.m. local time, a loud bang was heard in the southern suburbs of Beirut and a thick smoke could be seen rising. Israeli Defense Minister Galant later said that the airstrike killed Fuad Shukur, a senior commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah, who "has the blood of many Israelis on his hands."

According to the Israeli military, Shukur has been directing Hezbollah's attacks against Israel and on the 27th commanded a rocket attack on the Golan Heights town of Majdar Shams, but Hezbollah had previously denied any involvement in the attack.

After the Israeli army claimed to have killed Shukur, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP that Shukur survived the Israeli attack. The source added that the commander was "in charge of military operations in southern Lebanon."

Reuters reported that medical and security sources said the Israeli attack killed three civilians, including two children. Lebanon's Al Manar TV quoted the Lebanese Ministry of Health as saying that the airstrike injured 74 people and killed three.

In response, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said that the Lebanese government condemned the Israeli attack and planned to file a complaint with the United Nations. "We did not expect them to attack Beirut, but they attacked Beirut." He also said that he hoped that Hezbollah's response would not escalate the situation, "I hope that any response will be moderate and not exceed the limit, so that this wave of killing, attacks and shelling will stop."

In a letter to Russia, the rotating president of the UN Security Council, and UN Secretary-General Guterres, Iran's mission to the United Nations said that Iran strongly condemned Israel's attack on the suburbs of Beirut and called on the UN Security Council to hold the Israeli authorities accountable.

The letter reads: "The Israeli regime's aggression against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon on July 30, 2024 shows that the regime does not respect the norms and principles of international law. The United Nations Security Council must immediately and unconditionally condemn this act. The Security Council must also take immediate action to respond to this criminal act to ensure that such aggression, which threatens regional peace and security, does not happen again. Israel must be held accountable for these atrocities and must not go unpunished."

The Iranian delegation also noted that "the only way to restore peace and stability in the region is to immediately, completely and permanently end Israel's occupation, aggression and genocide."