Rabat — Israel launched a deadly airstrike on southern Beirut on Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 28 others in an attack that Israeli authorities claim targeted Hezbollah’s chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai.
The strike, a breach of Lebanon’s sovereign integrity, hit an apartment building in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in the capital, marking the fifth Israeli attack on this area as well as a ceasefire violation since the two formed a truce in late November 2024.
Ambulances rushed to the densely populated neighborhood after the strike damaged the third and fourth floors of a nine-story building. Rescue workers searched through apartments as emergency services treated the wounded, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) had “struck at the heart of Beirut, targeting the chief of staff of Hezbollah who has led the reinforcement and arming of the terrorist organization.” Netanyahu ordered the attack based on recommendations from his defense minister and IOF chief of staff, his office stated.
The IOF earlier described the operation as “a precise strike targeting a key Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut” but provided no additional details.
Hezbollah confirmed that one of its “figures” was targeted but did not identify the individual or confirm whether they were killed. Israeli and Lebanese authorities also have not released the target’s identity or status.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun issued a statement urging the international community to intervene firmly to stop Israel’s attacks on the country.
Lebanon “reiterates its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.”
Souhaib Jawher, a nonresident fellow at the Alternative Policy Institute, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that he believes “Tabatabai was the one reorganising Hezbollah’s military leadership.”
However, he indicated that targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs indicates that “the Lebanese state has no guarantees against the expansion of such attacks.”
He explained that it is “a means of exerting pressure, and there is no destructive decision that constitutes a ground invasion as long as the atmosphere is open to bombing and assassination.”
Netanyahu vows to prevent Hezbollah’s rearmament
Earlier Sunday morning, Netanyahu warned that Israel would do “whatever is necessary” to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening its position in Lebanon and to stop Hamas from gaining ground in Gaza.
“We continue to strike terrorism on multiple fronts,” Netanyahu told his cabinet during a meeting.
His spokesperson, Shosh Bedrosian, told reporters she could not “give the name of the target.” When asked whether the US had advance notice of the attack, she said, “Israel makes its decisions independently.”
Washington, which along with Paris serves on an international committee monitoring ceasefire compliance, did not receive advance warning of the strike, according to Axios, citing two US officials.
Competing ceasefire violation claims
Israel has recently intensified its strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in southern and eastern Lebanon. Israeli officials claim they target the militant group because it violates the ceasefire by rearming and reactivating its infrastructure.
“We will continue to act with force to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the State of Israel. Whoever raises a hand against Israel will see his hand cut off,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared.
Lebanese authorities regularly accuse Israel of violating the US-brokered ceasefire agreement by continuing strikes on Lebanese territory and maintaining control of five strategic points in southern Lebanon.
The US has pressured the Lebanese government to force Hezbollah — which emerged significantly weakened from its year-long conflict with Israel — to surrender its weapons in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. The group has refused to do so but has refrained from retaliating against Israeli strikes.