Hezbollah has confirmed senior commander Haitham Ali Tabatabai was killed in an Israeli air strike on a suburban area of Beirut on Sunday. The group said “the great commander” was killed in “a treacherous Israeli attack on the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs”.
Mr Tabatabai was deputy to Hezbollah secretary general Naim Qassem and is the most senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israel since the November 2024 ceasefire came into force.
“His great sacrifice will bring renewed hope, determination and strength to his fellow fighters, and reinforce their resolve to continue the path,” Hezbollah said.
Four other Hezbollah members were killed in the attack, the group confirmed.
About 1,000 people crowded into a cramped square in Ghobeiry in Beirut's southern suburbs for Mr Tabatabai's funeral as an Israeli drone hovered above, while thousands more lined the streets outside as his coffin was brought through the area to be buried nearby.
“I wish they could respond, but we know what will happen if they do,” said mourner Hussein Yazbek, referring to the likelihood of heavy Israeli reprisals if Hezbollah were to hit back. Hezbollah has said any response will be decided by the leadership of the group.
“I feel like we only gather for tragedies rather than positive events,” said one Hezbollah official at the funeral.
When Fouad Shukr, Hezbollah's top military leader was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut last summer, the group responded by launching hundreds of missiles at Israel. Now, Hezbollah finds itself in a very different situation, weakened and in a precarious position.
The Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly called for negotiations with Israel, including under US or UN mediation, to resolve a host of issues.
Ali Daamoush, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, warned the government that all “concessions” by the Lebanese government to calm the situation had failed. Lebanese officials have repeatedly criticised Israel for responding to negotiation overtures by increasing attacks on Lebanon.
“The Israeli enemy has repeatedly miscalculated in assuming that assassinating commanders would weaken Hezbollah. Such losses only reinforce the movement’s resolve,” said Mr Daamoush, who led the funeral prayers.
The strike on an apartment building in a busy area of Beirut came after about five months of calm in the city's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, after a previous Israeli attack in June.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the attack on the recommendation of Defence Minister Israel Katz and army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir. “Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times,” the office said.
On Monday morning, rescue workers were still at the site and inside the building, clearing up rubble and fixing electricity lines. The apartment attacked was on the fifth floor in a densely populated side road, surrounded by similarly tall buildings, which were largely unharmed.
Flattened buildings dot the neighbourhood, destroyed in last year’s war – a sign of how severely Israel attacked the area but also the task Lebanon has ahead with rebuilding.
Mr Tabatabai had been sanctioned by the US and labelled a “specially designated global terrorist”, with Washington offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on him.
The US State Department said he previously commanded special forces operating in Syria, where Hezbollah was heavily involved in propping up the Bashar Al Assad regime.
Other militant groups across the region allied with Iran have issued statements mourning the Hezbollah commander.
Iran itself called the strike on Beirut a “cowardly assassination”. The killing “constitutes a flagrant violation of the November 2024 ceasefire and a brutal breach of Lebanon's national sovereignty”, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to escalate attacks on Lebanon amid its criticism of the government in Beirut for taking too long to disarm Hezbollah. The US has also increased pressure on Beirut to show progress on the issue. Hezbollah has rejected any conversation over its weapons under the current circumstances.
Last year, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a US and French-brokered ceasefire. Under the terms, Hezbollah and Israeli forces were required to withdraw from southern Lebanon, where UN peacekeepers were deployed alongside the Lebanese army to help dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure.
But despite the truce almost a year ago, Israel has continued to attack southern Lebanon relentlessly and occupy five points on Lebanese territory.
Sunday's strike has added to fears that Hezbollah may launch a military response that could lead to a new flare-up in fighting.
But a senior Lebanese security official told The National on Monday that “security agencies have not received any indication that Hezbollah intends to respond and there are no signs of retaliation so far”.
“There has been no change in strategy or mobilisation following the strikes by any security agency in the country,” the source added. “We did observe increased drone activity over Beirut yesterday and late into the night, as well as in other parts of Lebanon, but there is still no explanation for it.”
