Exclusive: Fuad Shukr as resistance icon and family man in the words of his daughter

Press TV Website Correspondent

The assassination of the high-ranking Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr will make the Lebanese resistance more determined to continue the fight against the apartheid Israeli regime, his daughter told the Press TV website.

Shukr, alias Sayed Mohsen, was a senior military commander of the Lebanese resistance movement and Sayed Hassan Nasrallah's close confidant.

He was assassinated in a targeted attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on July 30, and the attack was claimed by the Israeli regime.

Speaking to the Press TV website, his eldest daughter Khadija recalled what happened on that fateful day and how she and her family members got to know about the martyrdom of Shukr.

“At first, we thought the strike was a sonic boom, but then we quickly understood it was an explosion,” Khadija recalled, referring to the phenomenon that has become a common occurrence in southern Lebanon in recent months.

“It did not occur to us that my father might have been at the site of the explosion. He was always discreet about his whereabouts due to work circumstances, and we never asked out of respect. He would usually call us when there was any attack or explosion to ensure that we were okay and to reassure us that he was also doing fine.”

The July 30 airstrike on a residential apartment in the Haret Hreik district of Dahiyeh, which also killed two children, came amid heightened regional tensions over the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

The dastardly attack grabbed headlines everywhere and drew widespread reactions from regional resistance groups.

According to his daughter, a short while after the explosion, she and her family members were informed that their father was present at the explosion site.

Civil defense personnel, however, could not trace him or his body among the injured and martyred for several hours, which led to speculation about his whereabouts.

“We were waiting like everyone else as injured people were rescued from under the rubble. We still had hope that he might have been alive until we were informed that the rescue teams said it was time to check for corpses and body parts and conduct DNA tests on blood samples or shredded body parts because there was no more hope of finding people alive,” Khadija said.

“It took a while until the rescue teams found my father’s body thrown away far from the explosion site. This gradual revelation on his assassination was sort of a preparation for us to be able to receive and digest the news.”

Exclusive: Inside story of Israeli strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader – and two kids  

Two siblings from southern suburbs of Beirut, who were killed in an Israeli bombing recently, which also killed a senior Hezbollah commander, were found under the rubble hugging each other.

Israeli barbarism  

A Hezbollah statement called him “the great jihadist commander” who was targeted by the Zionist enemy. The Hezbollah leader also paid glowing tributes to the deceased commander.

The impact of the explosion was so devastating that it shook the entire neighborhood and damaged several buildings in the vicinity of the residential complex that was the main target.

“The building was almost destroyed and the buildings next door and the cars and shops in the area were also severely damaged. Two children and two women were killed, and dozens were injured,” Khadija told the Press TV website, recalling the horrific tragedy.

“But this is not a new scene when it comes to Israeli barbarism. I was not surprised at all to see the savageness,” she hastened to add.

Putting up a brave front despite the colossal tragedy, Khadija said they have witnessed the brutality unleashed by the Israeli occupation over the years in many wars, both in Palestine and Lebanon.

“We have been witnessing Israeli brutality over the years in different wars it launched against Palestinians in the occupied territories and against Lebanon, and not only in the al-Aqsa flood,” she said.

Khadija visited the explosion site a day after the attack to see if she could find any remains of her father.

“Among the things remaining from his office were a small carpet from the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), some administrative papers related to work, and the chair he was sitting in, which was broken into pieces with his blood on it,” she said.

A big loss but not a defeat

Shukr rose through the ranks to attain a coveted position in the Lebanese resistance and was credited to have led the resistance fighters in multiple wars against the Zionist entity.

In his speech days after Shukr’s assassination, Nasrallah termed his loss a “great one” but added that it would not shake the resistance front and the unfinished job would be carried forward.

Hezbollah leader also vowed that the retaliation against Shukr’s assassination is inevitable.

“Sayed Hassan Nasrallah said the assassination of my father is a big loss because he is a high-value person,” Khadija told the Press TV website, referring to the Hezbollah leader’s remarks.

 “This is a great loss but not a defeat like the Israeli enemy and its supporters think.”

She referred to the assassinations of other top-ranking Hezbollah leaders and commanders, asserting that their martyrdom only reinvigorated the resistance against the apartheid regime.

“Were the assassinations of former Hezbollah leaders such as Sayed Abbas Mousawi, Sheikh Ragheb Harb, Haj Imad Moghnieh, or other leaders in the Axis of Resistance such as Lieutenant General Haj Qassem Soleimani considered as defeats.”

These assassinations, Khadija reiterated, have only made the Axis of Resistance stronger.

“The assassinations made the resistance axis, its leaders, and its supporters more determined than ever to defend their country, people, and the Palestinian cause because it is a just cause.”

In a statement on July 31, Hezbollah said his martyrdom will be a “resounding motivation for his fellow fighters to move forward with steadfastness and courage to preserve the achievements, victories, and capabilities and to achieve the goals and aspirations to which this great leader looked forward.”

Kill us, we become more aware.

Khadija said the Israeli regime is “arrogant and ignorant”, which makes it underestimate or misjudge the outcome of its actions.

“There are two points that the Israelis should understand. When Israel assassinates a leader or a member of Hezbollah or the resistance axis, it is doing the targeted person a favor,” she said.

“These people believe in martyrdom and look forward to such a culmination (to their lives).”

She said the resistance would gain in strength after her father’s martyrdom.

“Israelis should know that the more blood they shed, the more determined we become to resist the regime. We are the same people who say; Kill us, for our people will become more aware.”

“There is no such concept as defeat in our beliefs; it is either victory or martyrdom; a desired way by many to sacrifice oneself and win the hereafter.”

Shukr’s distinct legacy

According to media reports, Shukr’s assassination formed part of a decades-old policy adopted by the apartheid regime to “disrupt” the capabilities of Hezbollah through targeted killings.

However, Khadija said it will not disrupt anything and the mission of the resistance will be pursued by Shukr’s comrades and students whom he trained and mentored for years.

“Israelis have to know something very well: Sayed Mohsen trained and taught hundreds, if not thousands, of young Hezbollah fighters throughout the years and left a distinct legacy behind.”

During a memorial ceremony for the martyred commander, Nasrallah described Sayed Mohsen as the "maker of men," explaining that the martyr was influential in his surroundings and many of the Hezbollah martyrs throughout the years were among his students.

“Israel's targeted assassinations have never succeeded in dismantling the resistance movement or threatening its members and supporters,” Khadija added.

The pillar of love

Sayed Mohsen was a charismatic and strong person in terms of training the personnel or even in terms of raising his own children, Khadija told the Press TV website.

“This firm character would change within seconds. He would turn into an affectionate and lively person. To the young and old, to us and his grandchildren, he was a generous and loving person who was able to empathize with everyone,” she said.  

Khadija said her father was keen on teaching them how to stay connected as family members and help one another in times of need.

She also reiterated that Sayed Mohsen was a kind-hearted father who always wanted the best for his children and everyone around him.

“He always made sure we were learning about our religion and taking care of our studies,” she noted. “I could say he was the pillar of emotions and love in our life.”

Khadija said her father had an extraordinary character, and even though they were deprived of living a normal life, he would always make up for any occasions he missed.

Despite all the difficulties, Khadija said they lived a happy life with him, enjoyed and shared moments together with a man who was their father, a role model and a great leader.

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