An Israeli airstrike has struck Beirut for the first time in months, killing Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabtabai.
The strike hit the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in southern Beirut, a densely populated area known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least five people were killed and 28 others wounded in the targeted operation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Tabtabai had been “eliminated” in what he called a “professional, precise and successful” operation. “He was a master of murders,” Netanyahu said in a statement thanking Israeli forces for the strike.
Hezbollah also confirmed Tabtabai’s death, marking the loss of one of its most senior military commanders. Witnesses told Reuters that they heard the roar of Israeli warplanes before the explosion. Videos circulating on social media showed heavy smoke rising from the area and crowds gathering as rescue workers and firefighters rushed to the scene. The Lebanese military later cordoned off the area.
This was the first Israeli airstrike on Beirut since June and comes just days before Pope Leo’s scheduled visit to Lebanon. Israel issued no prior evacuation warnings.
Tabtabai led Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit and had long been considered one of the group’s most influential figures. The US State Department designated him a global terrorist in 2016, offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
He was believed to have succeeded Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in Israeli strikes in September 2024 alongside Hezbollah’s long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah. The deaths have significantly weakened Hezbollah’s top leadership in recent months.
Netanyahu said Israel’s policy was clear: “Under my leadership, the State of Israel will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its power, and we will not allow it to once again pose a threat to the State of Israel.”
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks, as Israel accuses Hezbollah of attempting to rearm and regroup near the border allegations denied by the Lebanese government.