On the evening of July 30, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike in Beirut that killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. In the early hours of July 31, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran while on a trip to attend the inauguration of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel did not take credit for killing Haniyeh, but Iran’s regime has vowed to take revenge on Israel. Israel is now preparing for various possible responses by Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hamas.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran “views it as a duty to take vengeance for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil,” according to IRNA, Iran’s state media. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said that the death of Haniyeh “will strengthen the deep ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and dear Palestine and Resistance.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other officials in Tehran also put out statements.
The elimination of Shukr in Beirut was a rare long-range airstrike for Israel targeting Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah has its headquarters. Hezbollah has frequently increased the range of its attacks into Israel each time it accuses Israel of attacks that go beyond a few miles of the border. This proportional tit-for-tat has become the norm in almost 10 months of the group’s attacks on Israel. Therefore, the Shukr’s killing could trigger a larger conflict.
“Fuad Shukr has directed Hezbollah’s attacks on the State of Israel since October 8th, and he 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,” the IDF said on July 30.
Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Israel’s airstrikes but continued its typical small-scale attacks along the border. The IDF said it “successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that approached from Lebanon toward Israeli territory” on July 31.
In northern Israel, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi met with the Kfir infantry Brigade, which moved to the north after fighting in Gaza earlier in the year.
“We have confidence in our planned moves going forward, because our intention with Hezbollah is not to return to October 6th,” the Chief of Staff said, referencing the day before Hamas’s attack that started the war. He also discussed Israel’s precision strike capabilities in a speech to the brigade and assembled officers. “The IDF knows how to operate and reach a certain window in a neighborhood in Beirut, it knows as well how to target a certain point underground, and we also know how to operate inside on the ground very strongly, and this week you are training for this, and this is a very important capability.”
On July 31, after Haniyeh’s killing was known, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant visited an IDF Arrow air defense site used to intercept ballistic missile threats. The Arrow is the top tier of Israel’s multi-layered air defenses.
“Your actions enable us to do what is necessary—we are prepared for every possible [scenario],” Gallant said to the air defenders. “The Air Defense array operates on a daily basis, and the Arrow system within it has been essential during this war—intercepting threats from Yemen and particularly during the events that unfolded in April. The capabilities shown here are very impressive. The operation tonight in Beirut was precise and professional. We do not seek war, but we are preparing for all possibilities.” Gallant’s visit to the air defense site was likely a message to the region about Israel’s preparations.
Gallant also spoke with his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, discussing the IDF’s strike in Beirut.
“Gallant emphasized that Israel does not seek war, however the IDF remains prepared to defend its citizens and to respond to any attack by Hezbollah,” the Israeli defense minister’s office stated. “Minister Gallant told the Secretary that the ties between Israel and the United States are central to Israel’s standing in the region and to deterring Iran and its proxies,” Gallant’s office noted.
The IDF continued to say throughout July 31 that it had not changed the Home Front guidelines. “The IDF is currently conducting a situational assessment,” it noted. Nevertheless, several commercial airlines, including United Airlines, canceled flights to Israel on August 1 “due to unrest in the Middle East.”
