Israel carried out an air strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on 23 November, saying it killed Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabataba’i. Lebanon’s health ministry reported five dead and 25 wounded after an apartment block in Haret Hreik was hit, the first Israeli strike on the capital in months.
Hezbollah acknowledged that a senior commander was targeted but did not immediately confirm a name. Israeli officials later claimed Tabataba’i had been eliminated; at the time of writing, Hezbollah had yet to confirm his death. Transliteration varies in reporting, with the name rendered as Tabataba’i or Tabtabai.
Tabataba’i has been under U.S. counterterrorism sanctions since October 2016. The U.S. Treasury announced his designation that month, and the State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme offers up to $5m for information on him, citing his role in leading Hezbollah special forces in Syria and Yemen.
The strike comes despite a U.S.- and French-mediated cessation of hostilities announced on 26 November 2024. In White House remarks, President Joe Biden said the arrangement was designed to be a permanent ceasefire and set a 60‑day window for the Lebanese Armed Forces to deploy in the south and for Israeli forces to withdraw behind the Blue Line.
Implementation has been uneven. Israel withdrew from border villages but retained troops at five positions inside Lebanon beyond the withdrawal deadline, a posture reported by AFP and acknowledged by the Israel Defense Forces; Lebanese authorities have protested the continued presence.
Hezbollah has rejected pressure to disarm during the truce period, arguing that any discussion of its weapons must follow a halt to Israeli strikes and a complete withdrawal from Lebanese territory. Its leadership has framed disarmament as contingent on full compliance with the 2024 ceasefire.
Israeli officials say the Beirut operation aimed to disrupt Hezbollah’s command and prevent rearmament, part of a broader campaign they argue is intended to block a military rebuild during the truce. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has signalled such actions could continue.
The legal baseline remains Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), which envisages an area free of armed groups south of the Litani River, the deployment of the Lebanese army alongside UNIFIL, and the disarmament of non‑state actors. Mediators routinely cite these provisions when assessing compliance claims.
Policy significance is immediate. If Israel’s claim about Tabataba’i is confirmed, Hezbollah will need to manage command continuity; if not, further attempts could follow. Either trajectory tests the ceasefire’s promised enforcement and monitoring-commitments the U.S. and France said they would support when announcing the arrangement.