Israel struck Lebanon’s capital for the first time since June, saying it killed Hizbullah’s chief of staff Haytham Tabtabai and warning the Iran-backed militant group not to rearm and rebuild a year after their latest war.
The strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed five people and wounded 25 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Hizbullah confirmed Tabtabai’s death.
Earlier it said the strike, launched almost exactly a year after a ceasefire in the Israel-Hizbullah war, threatened an escalation of attacks – just days before Pope Leo is scheduled to visit Lebanon on his first foreign trip.
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“We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel,” Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said.
The military instructed residents in northern Israel near the Lebanese border to continue with daily routines, indicating that it did not anticipate a military response from Hizbullah.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Tabtabai of leading Hizbullah’s efforts to rearm.
Israeli airstrikes over southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks while Israel and the US have pressured Lebanon to disarm Hizbullah.
Israel asserts that the group is trying to rebuild its military capabilities. The Lebanese government, which supports disarming Hizbullah, has denied those claims.
It also says troops have deployed to the south but that its cash-strapped army needs more resources.
Hizbullah has not attacked Israel since the ceasefire began. In December, it fired several rockets that landed on open territory near an Israeli military base and called it a “warning”.
Tabtabai had been the apparent successor of Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in September 2024 in Israeli attacks that wiped out much of Hizbullah’s senior leadership, including long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Tabtabai also had led Hizbullah’s elite Radwan Unit.
In 2016, the US designated him as a terrorist, calling him a military leader who led Hizbullah’s special forces in Syria and Yemen, and it offered up to five million dollars for information about him.
“Hizbullah’s leadership is studying the matter of response and will take the appropriate decision,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hizbullah’s political council, told journalists at the scene.
“The strike on the southern suburbs today opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon,” he said.
Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun in a statement condemned Sunday’s strike and accused Israel of refusing to implement its end of the ceasefire agreement.
He called on the international community to “intervene with strength and seriousness to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people”.
Israel’s military statement said Israel remains committed to the “understandings” agreed upon by Israel and Lebanon.
A video circulated on social media showed dozens of people crowded around the area of the strike, which appeared to be on the fourth floor of an apartment building.
“This is definitely a civilian area and void of any military presence, especially the neighbourhood where we stand,” Hizbullah parliamentarian Ali Ammar told reporters near the site.
[ Israeli attack kills 13 people in Lebanese city of SidonOpens in new window ]
Lebanon and United Nations peacekeepers have been critical of ongoing Israel attacks in the country and accuse Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.
Mr Aoun last week said the country is ready to enter negotiations with Israel to stop its airstrikes and to withdraw from five hilltop points it occupies on Lebanese territory. It was unclear if Israel would agree.
Mr Aoun and prime minister Nawaf Salam say they are committed to disarming all non-state actors in the country, including Hizbullah. – AP
