Israel has attacked the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, killing five people, including Hezbollah’s highest ranking military official.
Sunday’s attack, which took place amid an uptick in Israeli attacks across Lebanon, was the first on Beirut’s southern suburbs in several months and the first without warning since last year’s ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.
Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s chief of staff, also known as Sayyid Abu Ali, was among those targeted and killed. This was the third attempt on his life, according to Israeli media, which reported that the two prior attempts occurred during last year’s war with Israel, which culminated in a United States-brokered ceasefire in November 2024.
Israel has since been accused of violating that ceasefire on a near-daily basis by United Nations experts. Hezbollah has responded to Israel’s continued attacks once, in December.
Who was Haytham Ali Tabatabai?
Before the attack, Tabatabai’s name was not widely known in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s military operatives tend to work in the shadows to avoid Israeli assassinations.
But since his death on Sunday, it has been revealed that Tabatabai held many senior positions within the armed political group during his tenure.
He was born in 1968 in Bashoura, a neighbourhood in Beirut, to Lebanese parents although his father reportedly had Iranian roots. He grew up in southern Lebanon and reportedly joined Hezbollah in the 1980s.
In its official announcement, Hezbollah said Tabatabai had been part of the group since its founding in 1982 as a resistance movement against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. In the post-war period, Hezbollah grew to become Lebanon’s strongest political party and military force, serving in Lebanon’s parliament and having ministers in several governments.
Tabatabai was a senior military official in Hezbollah with extensive military experience. He reportedly took part in a number of field operations in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon and led Hezbollah’s Nabatieh axis, or command area, from 1996 until Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.
According to Hezbollah, Tabatabai then led the Khiam axis from 2000 until 2008 and was in command during the July 2006 war, which saw Israel and Hezbollah fight to a draw after 34 days. The group also said Tabatabai participated in establishing Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.
Later, he was responsible for Hezbollah’s operations along the border with Syria and took over responsibilities for the operations branch during last year’s war with Israel.
According to Israeli media reports, Tabatabai led Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in Syria and Yemen before replacing Ali Karaki, who was assassinated during last year’s war, as commander of Hezbollah’s southern front.
He was appointed as Hezbollah’s chief of staff after the war, in which most of Hezbollah’s senior military leaders were killed by Israel.
“Tabatabai was the one reorganising Hezbollah’s military leadership, and the targeting of the southern suburbs of Beirut is an indication that the Lebanese state has no guarantees against the expansion of such attacks,” Sohaib Jawhar, a nonresident fellow at the Beirut-based Badil, the Alternative Policy Institute, told Al Jazeera.
What has Hezbollah said about his death?
In its statement, Hezbollah confirmed the loss of “the great martyr jihadist commander” known as Sayyid Abu Ali and described Israel’s assassination as a “treacherous attack on the Haret Hreik area in the suburbs of Beirut”.
Mahmoud Qmati, vice president of the group’s Political Council, lamented “yet another ceasefire violation” and accused Israel of escalating the conflict “with the green light given by the United States”.
Hezbollah released a compilation video showing footage of Tabatabai operating in the field.
It also confirmed the deaths of four other Hezbollah members: Qassem Hussein Berjawi, Rifaat Ahmad Hussein, Mostafa Asaad Berro and Ibrahim Ali Hussein.
Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar accused Israel of again violating the ceasefire.
“Every attack on Lebanon is a crossing of a red line, and this aggression is inherent in the entity that targets Lebanon’s dignity, sovereignty and the security of its citizens,” he said.
What has the Lebanese state said?
Just two days before the attack, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced the government’s intention to enter peace negotiations with Israel with support from the international community.
After the attack on Sunday, however, Aoun called on the international community to intervene to stop Israeli attacks on his country.
Frustration has been building in parts of Lebanon as some locals feel the government is not properly equipped or willing to respond to Israel’s repeated aggressions. Many residents in southern Lebanon have expressed feelings of abandonment by the Lebanese government because it has been unable to prevent repeated Israeli attacks or rebuild destroyed homes.
What has Israel said?
After Sunday’s strike, Israel said it “remains committed to the understandings agreed upon between the State of Israel and Lebanon”, likely referring to the existing ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike had been ordered after recommendations from the defence minister and the Israeli army’s chief of staff, and he justified it by accusing Tabatabai of posing a threat to Israeli security.
The Israeli army released a statement, saying: “Tabatabai commanded most of Hezbollah’s units and worked extensively to restore their readiness for war with Israel. The [Israeli military] will act against attempts to rebuild and rearm Hezbollah and will operate forcefully to remove any threat against Israel.”
Was the US aware of the attack beforehand?
According to the US news website Axios, US officials were aware that an “escalation” was expected but were not informed of the details of this particular strike. An official told Axios the US had been informed by Israel’s government directly after the strike.
What happens now?
Qmati said Israel’s strike had crossed a “red line” and the group’s leadership would now consider whether a response was warranted.
“The strike on the southern suburbs today opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon,” he said.
