HARET HREIK, Lebanon — 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 a year after their latest war. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed five people and wounded 25.
Hezbollah did not immediately confirm details. Earlier the group said the strike, launched almost exactly a year after a ceasefire ended the Israel-Hezbollah war, threatened an escalation of attacks — coming days before Pope Leo XIV’s scheduled first foreign trip to Lebanon.
“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. Government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian did not say whether Israel informed the United States before the strike, saying only that “Israel makes decisions independently.” Israel did not issue an evacuation warning.
Tabtabai led Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit. Israel’s military said he “commanded most of Hezbollah’s units and worked hard to restore them to readiness for war with Israel.” Israel’s foreign ministry said the killing followed repeated Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire. The U.S. designated Tabtabai a terrorist in 2016, accusing him of leading Hezbollah special forces in Syria and Yemen, and offered up to $5 million for information. He had been seen as the successor to Ibrahim Aqil, who was killed in September 2024 in Israeli attacks that struck much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership.
At the scene, Hezbollah deputy political council chair Mahmoud Qamati told journalists a high-ranking militant may have been killed but gave no details. “Hezbollah’s leadership is studying the matter of response and will take the appropriate decision,” Qamati said, adding that the strike “opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon.”
Smoke was visible in the busy Haret Hreik neighborhood, and social media video showed dozens of people at the strike site, which appeared to be on the fourth floor of an apartment building. Gunshots were heard as emergency workers arrived. Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar said the area was “definitely a civilian area and void of any military presence.” An Israeli drone was observed near the targeted building and the Lebanese military cordoned off the area.
Locals pushed back against calls to disarm. “They want to take our weapons. But our weapons will not be taken,” resident Maryam Assaf said, saying the strike only strengthened their resolve.
Israel has intensified airstrikes over southern Lebanon in recent weeks while it and the United States have pressured Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, accusing the group of rebuilding capabilities in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese government has approved a military plan that would disarm Hezbollah but has denied claims that the group is rearming.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike, accusing Israel of failing to implement its end of the ceasefire agreement and urging the international community to intervene “with strength and seriousness to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.” Israel’s military said it remains committed to the “understandings” agreed with Lebanon.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, after Hamas attacked southern Israel and Hezbollah fired rockets in solidarity. Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion last year severely weakened Hezbollah. That conflict killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion in damage, according to the World Bank; 127 people died in Israel, including 80 soldiers.
On Tuesday, an Israeli strike killed 13 people in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near Sidon, the deadliest attack since the ceasefire. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas military facility; Hamas denied having military facilities in the camp.
Kareem Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Megan Janetsky in Jerusalem contributed.