This Photo Shows a Hezbollah Fighter, Not Top Commander Fuad Shukr
The Claim
A photo shows Top Commander Fuad Shukr.
News posted on
Emerging story
Following the killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr by Israel, media outlets and social media users circulated a photo claiming to show the commander.
Israel's Foreign Affairs Ministry included the photo in a video report on their official YouTube channel.
In addition, prominent Arabic media outlets, such as Sky News Arabiya and Alarabiya, featured the photo in their published reports about Fuad Shukr.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral photo and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the photo making the rounds to be unrelated to Hezbollah’s Commander, Fuad Shukr.
Old Photo Shows a Hezbollah Fighter, Not Fuad Shukr
Contrary to social media users’ viral claim, the photo does not feature the Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. Instead, the photo shows a Hezbollah fighter listening to Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who was speaking via a video link.
Photographer Bilal Hussein captured the image for the Associated Press.
Voice of America news outlet also released the same photo of the Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in a published article.
Moreover, Lebanese Hezbollah released authentic photos of the Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr via the military media in the Islamic Resistance’s Telegram channel.
Hezbollah also released an exclusive video showing scenes of the Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, giving a speech and following up with the group’s military operations.
The Islamic Resistance Mourns the Death of Fouad Shukr
On July 31, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon declared the assassination of the Hezbollah commander, Sayyed Fouad Ali Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon.
The statement reads, “With the highest expressions of pride, honor, and confidence in Allah's imminent victory, Al-Qassam Brigades mourn the great leader of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon: The great Fighter Leader, Sayyed Fouad Ali Shukr - "Sayyed Mohsen" who was martyred on the path to Al-Quds on Tuesday, 24 Muharram 1446, corresponding to 30-07-2024, as a result of a treacherous Zionist bombing attack on the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Al-Qassam Brigades commend the central role of martyr "Sayyed Mohsen" in supporting the Palestinian people and their resistance during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and his significant role in building the resistance front against the Zionist occupation over many years. Indeed, it is a fight for victory or martyrdom.”
Who Is Fouad Shukr or “Sayyed Mohsen”?
Fouad Shukr, born on April 25, 1961, in Nabi Chit, Fouad Shukr was a founding member of Hezbollah and played a significant role in organizing the initial groups of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon. He actively resisted the Israeli invasion in the early 1980s, getting injured in the 1982 Khaldeh confrontation.
Shukr was planning and managing key operations against Israeli occupation forces, serving as Hezbollah's primary military leader during its formative years and into the 1990s.
He devised military strategies for the Islamic Resistance, particularly during and after the July 2006 war, and led various significant military and security missions.
Israel Assassinated Hezbollah Commander Fuad Shukr
Shukr led military operations on the Lebanese front since the start of the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood. Shukr was killed in Beirut's southern suburb following an Israeli assassination operation on July 30, 2024.
According to Israeli military planners, Shukr was responsible for the missile strike that killed 12 children playing football in Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. However, Hezbollah denied accountability for the attack.
Besides being wanted by Israel, Shukr was also sought by the United States. The U.S. government's Rewards for Justice website offered up to $5 million for information on Shukr, designating him as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in 2019.
Hezbollah Vows To Respond To Killing Commander Shukr
On Thursday, Lebanon's Iran-backed group Hezbollah vowed a "definite" response to Israel's killing of its top military commander, stating that the strike had crossed red lines and marked a new phase in their decades-old rivalry.
"The resistance cannot but respond. This is definite," declared Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a televised address during the funeral of the slain commander. "We are looking for a real response, not a performative response, and for real opportunities. A studied response," Nasrallah said.
Just hours after Shukr's killing, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in an attack widely attributed to Israel.
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