Senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai
In a statement, the group said Tabtabai, described as “the great commander,” was killed in “a treacherous Israeli attack on the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of Beirut,” without specifying his position within the group.
Tabtabai is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the start of a November 2024 ceasefire aimed at ending more than a year of hostilities between the two sides.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike on Haret Hreik killed five people and wounded 28, without identifying the victims.
Israel said in a statement shortly after the strike that it had “eliminated” Tabtabai, whom it described as Hezbollah’s chief of general staff.
Following the deadly attack, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for immediate international intervention to halt Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.
The attack marked the fifth Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs since the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. It also comes a week ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s scheduled visit to Lebanon.
Since the ceasefire began, Israeli strikes have killed over 330 people and wounded 945, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
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