An Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Sunday has killed Haytham Ali Tabatabai, a senior commander in Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group. The attack occurred in the Haret Hreik district, a known Hezbollah stronghold in the capital. The strike reportedly killed at least five individuals and injured 28 others. Both Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the death of Tabatabai, who was known by his nom de guerre Abu Ali Tabatabai. The attack is part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to dismantle Hezbollah, which it has accused of being a terrorist organization.
Tabatabai, who joined Hezbollah as a teenager during the group’s formation in 1982, was one of the few long-serving commanders to survive Israel’s targeted-killing campaign last year. He was said to be overseeing Hezbollah’s rearmament efforts as the organization sought to rebuild its capabilities following a series of setbacks, including the detonation of booby-trapped pagers last year that Israeli intelligence infiltrated into the group’s supply channels. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the strike, calling it a necessary step toward enabling ‘a better future for every citizen in Lebanon.’
Netanyahu, who also highlighted the U.S. bounty of five million dollars on Tabatabai’s head, which was issued in 2016 after he escaped an earlier Israeli assassination attempt, reiterated Israel’s stance against Hezbollah. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack, calling on the international community to ‘assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.’ The incident has heightened tensions in the region, with the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah likely to escalate further in the coming months.