Israel killed Hezbollah’s chief of general staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai in a pinpoint airstrike on a residential building in south Beirut late Sunday night. This makes him the most senior commander eliminated since the fragile November 2024 ceasefire took effect. The Israeli military confirmed the raid also eliminated four other high-ranking operatives meeting with Tabatabai and described the operation as a preemptive strike against an imminent threat.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps swiftly declared that Hezbollah and the entire Axis of Resistance hold the unquestionable right to avenge the blood of their fallen fighters. At Monday’s funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs thousands of mourners marched behind yellow-draped coffins, raised portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and chanted furious slogans against Israel and the United States.

The 2024 ceasefire required Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River and dismantle all military sites in the south while Lebanon’s army was to finish disarming the group by the end of 2025. Israel has carried out near-daily strikes since the truce began, accusing Hezbollah of rearming. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will strike again and again until the militia is permanently stripped of its power.

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Within Hezbollah a heated debate now rages between commanders demanding immediate retaliation and leaders urging maximum restraint to avoid triggering a new full-scale war that Lebanon cannot survive. Analysts point out that the group’s weapons stocks and command chain remain badly damaged after the 2024 conflict and the loss of its Syrian supply route.

Tabatabai’s death follows the earlier killing of Hassan Nasrallah and underlines Israel’s continued ability to track and eliminate top Hezbollah figures despite tightened security. The assassination has pushed the ceasefire to breaking point and raised fresh fears of a rapid slide back into open warfare.

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