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Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr was lured to his apartment via phone call, minutes before deadly Israeli strike

Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr was lured to his apartment via phone call, minutes before deadly Israeli strike

Fuad Shukr

Hezbollah deputy leader Fuad Shukr was lured to his seventh-floor residence from his second-floor office in Beirut last month when he was killed in an airstrike, a report in newspaperWall Street Journal (WSJ) has claimed.

An official belonging to the Iran-backed terror outfit said minutes before the airstrike, Shukr had gone upstairs, which made his assassination easier. He had been living and working from the same building to limit his time outside.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike on July 30 killed Shukr, his wife, two other women and two children. The aftermath of the attack left the top corner of a multi-storey building demolished, with charred debris scattered across the vicinity.

The report added that Hezbollah was working with Iran to investigate the security breach which led to the airstrike - killing one of its most important assets.

Watch | Hezbollah confirms death of top commander Fuad Shukr in Israeli air strike

Retaliatory strike from Israel

The Israeli military, while announcing the killing,labelled Shukr as Hezbollah's most senior commander.The strike was retaliatory in nature after a Hezbollah rocket hit the northern town of Majdal Shams, killing 12 children and teenagers.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant justified the strike, asserting that Shukr was responsible for numerous Israeli deaths.

"He [Shukr] has the blood of many Israelis on his hands. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end," said Gallant at the time.

Notably, hours after the attack, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was also assassinated in a bomb blast at a guesthouse in Tehran.

According to reports, Israel was behind the attack as well with Iranian assets helping in setting off the bomb, planted in at least three rooms in the guesthouse, belonging to theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

After the twin attacks, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed ofretaliation against Israel, which has kept the region on its toes with the US repeatedly calling for de-escalation in the situation.

“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house and made us bereaved,"Khamenei said at the time.

Since then, US warships, fighter jets and submarine have been deployed in the Middle East to avoid any potential Israel-Iran flare-up.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Israel-Hamas war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)