HARET HREIK, Lebanon — Israel carried out an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, saying it killed Haytham Tabtabai, a senior Hezbollah commander, and warning the Iran-backed group not to rearm a year after their last war. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported five people were killed and 25 wounded in the strike.
Hezbollah had not issued an immediate official response. Earlier, the group had warned the attack — launched almost exactly a year after the cease-fire that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war — risked escalating violence, noting the strike came days before Pope Leo XIV was due to visit Lebanon for his first foreign trip.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military would ‘continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel.’ Government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian declined to say whether Washington was notified ahead of the strike, adding only that ‘Israel makes decisions independently.’ Israel did not issue any public evacuation warnings prior to the strike.
Israeli forces identified Tabtabai as the head of Hezbollah’s Radwan Unit and said he oversaw most of the group’s operational units, working to restore them to readiness for a potential conflict with Israel. Israel’s foreign ministry said the strike was a response to repeated alleged violations of the cease-fire by Hezbollah. In 2016 the United States designated Tabtabai a terrorist, accusing him of leading Hezbollah special forces deployments in Syria and Yemen and offering a reward for information on him.
Tabtabai had been seen as a successor to Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in Israeli attacks in September 2024 that eliminated much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.
At the scene, Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told reporters that a high-ranking member may have been killed but offered few details. He said Hezbollah’s leadership was evaluating a response and warned the strike could open the door to broader assaults across Lebanon.
Smoke rose over the busy Haret Hreik neighborhood after the strike. Social media video showed people gathered around the impact site on what appeared to be the fourth floor of an apartment building, while gunfire could be heard as emergency teams arrived. Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar described the area as ‘definitely a civilian area and void of any military presence.’ An Israeli drone was reported in the vicinity and the Lebanese military sealed off the site, state media said.
Residents reacted angrily. Maryam Assaf, who lives nearby and said she heard the blast, accused Israel of trying to disarm them and vowed their weapons would not be taken, saying the attack only strengthened their resolve.
Lebanon and U.N. peacekeepers have criticized recent Israeli attacks and accused Israel of breaching the cease-fire terms. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike and accused Israel of failing to honor its commitments, appealing to the international community to act ‘with strength and seriousness’ to halt attacks on Lebanon and its people.
Israel’s military said it remains committed to the understandings reached with Lebanon, even as Israeli airstrikes over southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks amid pressure from Israel and the United States for Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. Israel says Hezbollah is trying to rebuild military capabilities in southern Lebanon; Lebanon’s government, which has approved a plan to disarm the group, has rejected those claims.
The most recent Israel-Hezbollah war began on Oct. 8, 2023, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel following attacks by Hamas. That conflict included heavy Israeli bombardment and a ground invasion that, according to the World Bank, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused roughly $11 billion in damage. In Israel, 127 people were killed, including many soldiers.
Separately, an Israeli strike on Tuesday hit the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon, killing 13 people in the deadliest incident since the cease-fire. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas military facility in the camp; Hamas denied having military facilities there.
Kareem Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Megan Janetsky in Jerusalem contributed.