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.
Hezbollah, a radical Islamic terrorist group, 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.
“We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel,” Israeli Defense 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 airstrikes over southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks while Israel and the United States have pressured Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. Israel warns that the group is trying to rebuild its military capabilities.
Tabtabai had been the apparent successor of Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in September 2024 in Israeli attacks that wiped out much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. Tabtabai also had led Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit. In 2016, the U.S. designated him as a terrorist, calling him a military leader who led Hezbollah’s special forces in Syria and Yemen, and it offered up to $5 million for information about him.
BREAKING: The Israeli Air Force just carried out precise airstrikes on the location of Hezbollah's number 2 military commander in Beirut, Lebanon.
If we finally got him, that’s a massive success.
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) November 23, 2025
The Associated Press contributed to this article