After the end of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, he was officially appointed as the military chief of staff in the terror group. \u201cIn this role, he led the organization\u2019s reconstruction,\u201d the military said.<\/p>\n
\t An AFP correspondent at the scene said the strike hit the third and fourth floors of a nine-story building. Lebanon\u2019s state NNA outlet reported three missiles were fired at the building in the Haret Hreik area \u2014 a Hezbollah stronghold \u2014 damaging vehicles and other nearby structures.<\/p>\n Lebanon\u2019s health ministry reported at least one person killed in the strike, and 21 people wounded, calling it a \u201cpreliminary toll.\u201d<\/p>\n The IDF issued footage of the strike.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n An Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah\u2019s de facto military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai in Beirut, November 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n Israel has been escalating its strikes on Hezbollah in recent weeks, accusing the terror group of violating the year-old ceasefire and increasingly attempting to rebuild its capabilities, and expressing frustration at lagging Lebanese efforts to disarm the group.<\/p>\n The strike came almost exactly a year after the US-brokered truce in Lebanon took effect on November 27, 2024.<\/p>\n Tabatabai\u2019s assassination came in response to \u201cHezbollah\u2019s repeated violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the 2024 ceasefire understandings, as well as the threat he posed to Israel and to regional stability,\u201d the Foreign Ministry said after the strike.<\/p>\n Israel \u201cwill not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its military capabilities and once again threaten the security of Israel and its citizens. The organization\u2019s aggressive actions constitute a clear violation of international obligations and agreements,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n The Lebanese government has failed to address Hezbollah\u2019s violations, said Israel, while Hezbollah is working to \u201crestore and expand\u201d its military capabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael is committed to the full implementation of the ceasefire understandings and has reported hundreds of violations through the international mechanism led by the United States,\u201d the Foreign Ministry said.<\/p>\n Netanyahu: \u2018Israel will not let Hezbollah rebuild its strength\u2019<\/p>\n The Prime Minister\u2019s Office announced shortly after the attack that \u201cthe IDF struck, in the heart of Beirut, the Hezbollah chief of staff who led the organization\u2019s military buildup and armament efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPrime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu ordered the strike on the recommendation of the defense minister and the IDF chief of staff,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n In a video statement issued a few hours later, Netanyahu called Tabatabai \u201ca mass murder\u201d with the blood of many Israelis and Americans on his hands, and vowed: \u201cIsrael will not let Hezbollah rebuild its strength.\u201d<\/p>\n The premier said that he \u201cexpects the Lebanese government to fulfill its commitment to disarm Hezbollah.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Defense Minister Israel Katz, too, vowed that Israel will continue to take action against those who threaten it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhoever raises a hand against Israel \u2014 that hand will be cut off,\u201d Katz said, adding that he will not allow Israel to return to the situation that existed prior to October 7, 2023, with Hezbollah a constant looming threat on Israel\u2019s northern border.<\/p>\n Hezbollah: Strike crossed \u2018red line\u2019; Beirut demands action<\/p>\n Shortly after the strike \u2014 before the target was confirmed \u2014 Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati told reporters at the impact site that the attack \u201ccrosses a new red line.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, the terror group confirmed Tabatabai\u2019s death, eulogizing him as a \u201cgreat Jihadi commander.\u201d<\/p>\n Tabatabai \u201cdedicated his life to the resistance since its inception\u201d over four decades ago, and \u201cwas among the leaders who laid the foundation\u201d for it, Hezbollah said.<\/p>\n And Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the international community to intervene firmly to stop Israeli attacks on the country.<\/p>\n In a statement, Aoun said Lebanon \u201creiterates its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25327540509948.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tLebanese Red Cross volunteers work at the site where an apartment building was hit during an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburb of Beirut, on November 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Bilal Hussein)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-16-at-16.41.23-e1763304157833.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, November 16, 2025. (Screenshot\/GPO)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25266771226480.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AFP__20250927__76YK8KC__v1__HighRes__LebanonIsraelConflictHezbollah.jpg\")
<\/a>