Hezbollah military chief killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
Israel’s prime minister said Hezbollah’s Haytham Tabtabai was leading efforts to rebuild the militant group’s strength
Israel on Sunday struck Lebanon’s capital for the first time since June, saying it killed Hezbollah’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.
Hezbollah confirmed Tabtabai’s death. Earlier it said the strike, launched almost exactly a year after a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, threatened an escalation of attacks - just days before Pope Leo was scheduled to visit Lebanon on his first foreign trip.
“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 Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Tabtabai of leading Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm.
Israeli air strikes over southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks while Israel and the United States have pressured Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. Israel has asserted that the group was trying to rebuild its military capabilities. The Lebanese government, which supports disarming Hezbollah, has denied those claims. It also has said that troops have deployed to the south but that its cash-strapped army needed more resources.