Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai in an airstrike on a residential building in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday, November 23, 2025, in what the Lebanese government said was a "red line" crossing.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said the attack in Beirut came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would "do whatever is necessary" to prevent the Iranian-backed group from regrouping.
The attack killed five people and wounded 28 others. Israel confirmed that Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai was among the dead.
Haytham Ali Tabatabai is the highest-ranking Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since a truce was established in November 2024, aimed at finding ways to end the more than year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ministry did not release the names of the other victims of the attack, which took place in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of east Beirut, which is said to be heavily populated by Hezbollah fighters.
This is the fifth Israeli attack on the area since a ceasefire was agreed in November 2024. It also comes a week before Pope Leo XIV is due to visit Lebanon.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they “remain committed to the ceasefire agreement,” despite the attack.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he ordered the strike.
“In central Beirut, the IDF targeted the Commander-in-Chief of Hezbollah, who was leading the terrorist group’s reconstruction and arms re-equipment operations,” it said in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “You will stretch out your hand against Israel, we will cut it off.”
Over the past two years, Israeli strikes have killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah at the time, along with other senior leaders and about 5,000 of the group's fighters.
This morning, before the attack, Netanyahu told the Israeli cabinet that they would continue to fight terrorism on all sides. “We will do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from building up the capacity to launch attacks against us,” he said.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of re-arming and stockpiling weapons to undermine its security, in violation of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement signed last year, but Hezbollah says it has met its demands, including handing over the border between the country and Israel to the Lebanese army, which it controls.
