Israel announced on Sunday (Nov 23) that it had carried out an airstrike in Beirut that killed Haytham Ali Tabatabai, a senior Hezbollah commander. Both the Israeli military and Hezbollah confirmed that the attack targeted an apartment building in Haret Hreik, a district in the capital’s southern suburbs known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Lebanon’s health ministry reported five deaths and 28 injuries.
According to AFP, Tabatabai is the highest-ranking Hezbollah official killed by Israel since the ceasefire that began in November 2024, which was intended to pause more than a year of cross-border hostilities. Tabatabai had previously been the subject of a U.S. Treasury bounty of $5 million for information about his whereabouts due to his role in directing Hezbollah activities in Yemen and Syria.
The Israeli military described Tabatabai as Hezbollah’s “chief of general staff” and framed the operation as the removal of a high-value militant figure. The strike is the fifth such incident in Beirut’s southern suburbs since the truce began and comes shortly before a planned visit to Lebanon by Pope Leo XIV. Despite the escalation, Israel maintains that it continues to uphold the ceasefire.
Lebanon’s health ministry stated that four of the dead were fighters, though it did not publicly identify them. Hezbollah later confirmed that four of its members were killed and referred to Tabatabai as a “great commander,” condemning the attack as “treacherous.”
The incident occurred as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not permit Hezbollah to “rebuild its power.” His office said he personally authorized the operation, characterizing Tabatabai as central to Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm.
