Israel has carried out an airstrike in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. The attack targeted the city’s southern district, killing Hezbollah’s senior military commander Haitham Ali Tabatabai.
The incident has fueled concerns that the already tense situation may escalate further. The report was confirmed on Monday (24 November) by Al Jazeera.
According to the outlet, at least five people—including Tabatabai—were killed on Sunday when missiles struck an apartment building in Beirut’s Dahieh area, a Hezbollah stronghold. Hezbollah confirmed his death in a statement, describing him as a “great commander,” though the group did not disclose his exact position within the organization.
The Israeli military said it had “neutralized” Tabatabai. Earlier, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Tabatabai was the intended target of the operation. Israeli media reported that this was the third assassination attempt on him since last year’s war.
Hezbollah’s senior official Mahmoud Qomati previously said the strike “crossed a red line” and that the group’s leadership was considering its response. “Today’s attack on the southern suburbs has opened the door to major tensions across Lebanon,” he said.
Born in Beirut in 1968 to a Lebanese mother and Iranian father, Tabatabai grew up in southern Lebanon and joined Hezbollah at the age of 12. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said the attack also injured 28 others.
The state news agency NNA reported that two missiles hit the building on Al-Arid Street in the Harat Hreik area, causing severe damage to the parking lot, vehicles, and surrounding structures.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, noted rising concern in Lebanon that Israel’s “campaign of pressure and suppression could intensify.”
“Hezbollah is in a very difficult position right now,” she added. “If they do not respond, more attacks could follow. But if they retaliate, there is a risk of large-scale Israeli strikes that may harm their own supporters.”
Security analyst Ali Rizk told Al Jazeera that the key question now is how Hezbollah will respond. “In my view, Hezbollah will not want to give Netanyahu an excuse to launch a full-scale war,” he said. “Such a conflict would politically benefit Netanyahu while greatly harming Lebanon.”
