Israel has carried out an airstrike in southern Beirut — its first on the Lebanese capital since early June — targeting Hezbollah’s second most senior commander.
According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the strike hit “the heart of Beirut,” aiming at Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff, who it said had overseen the group’s military expansion and weapons programs.
A senior Israeli source told CNN that the intended target was Haytham Ali Tabatabai, effectively Hezbollah’s second-in-command. It remains unclear whether he was killed.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported one person dead and 21 injured in the strike, which hit an apartment building in a densely populated part of southern Beirut. Images from the aftermath showed smoke rising from the upper floors of the building.
Netanyahu approved the operation following recommendations from the defense minister and the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff, his office said.
“We will continue to act forcefully to eliminate any threat to residents of the north and to the State of Israel,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said. “Anyone who raises a hand against Israel — his hand will be cut off.”
The last Israeli strike on southern Beirut, in September 2024, killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. In recent months, Israeli attacks have severely weakened the group’s upper military ranks. Israel has also targeted pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, killing dozens.
Although a US-brokered ceasefire was reached a year ago, Israel has continued attacking Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. The US designated Tabatabai a terrorist in 2016, describing him as a top commander who led Hezbollah’s elite forces in Syria and Yemen. Washington’s Rewards for Justice program had offered up to $5 million for information on him.
Under the ceasefire terms, Hezbollah was expected to surrender heavy weapons and withdraw all fighters from south of the Litani River. Little progress has been made, prompting Israeli officials to warn that military action will intensify unless the Lebanese government takes stronger measures to rein in the group.
Earlier this month, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of doing “everything possible to undermine any negotiated settlement between the two countries.”
