Israel finally responded to the murder of the children in Majdal Shams. The response came in the form of a double whammy aimed at the terrorist leadership. The delay in the execution gave time to let the world know that Israel was not interested in a wider war. But the actions did show off (or re-establish) Israel’s reputation for superb intelligence coupled with flawless action. Here’s what happened.
Israel put a missile into the apartment of Fuad Shukr in the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut. Dahiya is a Shiite area and filled with Hezbollah offices and installations. The precision attack killed Shukr and a couple of others. There was no mass casualty event in Beirut. Fuad Shukr was one of the most senior military leaders of Hezbollah under Hassan Nasrallah. It was said that the Majdal Shams attack was linked to him through his role in developing longer range and more accurate missiles for their arsenal, as well as playing a part in target selection.
A few hours later another missile hit the apartment of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran. He, too, was killed. There was no mass casualty event in Tehran, either; just a precise and deadly hit on a single building.
The Two main victims were very senior members of the hierarchies of their respective organizations. It highlighted the ability of Israeli intelligence to locate targets, and the ability to hit them, even in locations where they were assumed to be safe (Israel had told the Lebanese Foreign Minister that civilian targets in Beirut would not be targeted, part of the effort to avert a larger regional war).
Now we just need a deal for the release of those kidnap victims.
Wetherhorn 