Hezbollah members arrested after Shukur's assassination, Janoubia reported

The news site Janoubia, known for its opposition to Hezbollah, reported on Aug. 3 that the assassination of Hezbollah's highest-ranking military official, Fouad Shukur, in the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 30, was facilitated by agents working for Israel. These agents were allegedly recruited from circles close to the party.

The media outlet considered this hypothesis the most likely, noting that Shukur "moved in complete secrecy and took all possible precautions."

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Janoubia detailed that Shukur took numerous security measures to avoid detection, including avoiding any technological means that could be traced through voice or biometric recognition. The anonymous author of the article stated, "Israeli technology could not have located him at the targeted building without the help of informants on the ground, who conveyed the exact details of Fouad Shukur's movements to the Israelis."

On the day of the assassination, Shukur reportedly left a place of worship to go to his office in Haret Hreik. "Only a handful of people were aware of his movements," the article continued. The author claimed that Hezbollah's high command is now convinced that "the party's ranks are infiltrated at a very high level by a network of agents working for Israel."

He highlighted that the party is highly concerned that Israel may possess a database of its internal structure, including names, photos, phone numbers, addresses, and digital voice data.

Arrests and investigations in Hezbollah's ranks

Hezbollah's suspicion of infiltration is what reportedly prompted the party to open an investigation with security officials who were aware of Shukur's movements. According to Janoubia, suspicions immediately turned toward these officials, particularly "a high-ranking Hezbollah security official who knew the exact location of Shukur and his guest, an Iranian military advisor, while they were waiting for the green light for a scheduled meeting with Hassan Nasrallah shortly before the assassination." The author noted that the security official in question "has been detained by party investigators and suspended from his duties until the investigation is concluded. The party is careful not to reveal to the public what is happening internally."

This presumed breach is reminiscent of the assassination of Hamas's political bureau number two, Saleh el-Arouri, on Jan. 2 in the southern suburbs. Janoubia recalled that the coordination unit is the body "directly concerned with the security of the southern suburbs, to which even law enforcement forces cannot access without prior authorization from the head of the unit, Wafic Safa, who is also in charge of the network of cameras installed in the streets and buildings of the suburbs."

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When asked, the executive director of Janoubia, Ali Amine, told L'Orient Today that "it is quite natural that an assassination operation like the one targeting Fouad Shukur is immediately followed by a series of arrests of suspected accomplices. Even if these people are later proven innocent, these arrests are carried out as a precautionary measure. These are routine measures," he concluded.