Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in attack on Lebanon’s capital

Haytham Ali Tabatabai, the country’s top military commander, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the capital of Lebanon, according to Hezbollah.

At least five people were killed in the attack on an apartment block in southern Beirut on Sunday, according to Tabatabai, the group’s chief of staff.

Hezbollah released a statement claiming that “the great commander” Tabatabai was killed in an “a dangerous Israeli attack on the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of Beirut” without stating what his organization’s position was.

Tabatabai is the most senior Hezbollah leader to have been killed by Israel since the start of a ceasefire in November 2024, which aims to put an end to the conflict’s more than a year.

Tabatabai was the target of the attack, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier statement. According to Israeli media, this was the military’s third attempt to kill him since the end of the war last year.

Mahmoud Qmati, a senior Hezbollah official, previously claimed that the organization’s leadership was considering whether to take a countermeasure against Israel’s strike had crossed a “red line.”

He claimed that the assault on the southern suburbs today will lead to more assaults throughout Lebanon.

Tabatabai was the child of an Iranian father and a Lebanese mother in Beirut in 1968. He joined Hezbollah at the age of 12 after growing up in southern Lebanon.

28 people were also hurt, according to the Lebanoni government’s ministry of public health.

According to a report from Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA), two missiles were fired at the Haret Hreik apartment building and serious harm to nearby cars and structures.

Hezbollah is “in a difficult position,” he says.

According to Zeina Khodr, a reporter for Al Jazeera in Beirut, there is growing concern that Israel, “which has been acting with impunity,” will increase its strikes in Lebanon.

She said, “Hezbollah is in a difficult position.” Without a response, it might have increased the threat of Israeli attacks because it has lost its deterrence capabilities. However, if Israel does respond, it could start a bigger Israeli bombardment that might harm its base.

A major question now is how Hezbollah will respond, according to security affairs analyst Ali Rizk.

“In my humble opinion, I don’t believe Hezbollah is ready to give Netanyahu what he wants, giving him an excuse to start a full-fledged war with Lebanon once more,” Netanyahu said. That might improve Netanyahu’s chances in politics. He added that it might be very expensive.

Joseph Aoun, president of Lebanon, demanded a strong international response to put an end to Israeli attacks on the nation.

Aoun stated earlier on Sunday that Lebanon “reaffirms its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and take immediate and necessary action to put an end to the atrocities against Lebanon and its people.”

Hassan Nasrallah, a long-time Hezbollah leader, was killed by Israel in an airstrike in southern Beirut more than a year ago.

Given recent weeks of increased Israeli aggression, Pope Leo XIV is only a few days away from visiting the nation.

Israel has been attacking Lebanon throughout the region since the United States brokered the ceasefire agreement about a year ago, according to Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar.

According to him, “every attack on Lebanon crosses a red line, and this aggression is inherent in the person who violates Lebanon’s dignity, sovereignty, and the security of its citizens.”

Israeli attacks have been carried out repeatedly.

Beirut has not been hit in the past few months despite Israel’s nearly daily attacks on southern Lebanon and its frequent attacks on it.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reports that at least 13 people have died as a result of an Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp this week.

According to the state-run NNA, a drone struck a car in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp’s car park on the outskirts of Sidon on Tuesday.

Lebanon has been subject to constant Israeli and US pressure to disarm Hezbollah.

By the end of the year, the Lebanese military had approved a plan that the government had approved in September. Israel continues to bomb the nation and occupy parts of the south while Hezbollah has refused to do so.

Source: Aljazeera