![\"Lebanon\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AFP__20251123__84WM2CT__v1__HighRes__LebanonIsraelConflictHezbollah-1763906798.jpg\")
Rescuers search for survivors at the residential building in Beirut\u2019s Haret Hreik neighbourhood [AFP]\u2018Hezbollah in a difficult position\u2019<\/p>\nHezbollah has confirmed that its top military commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Lebanon\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
Tabatabai, the chief of staff of the group\u2019s armed wing, was among at least five people killed in the attack on an apartment block in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh in southern Beirut on Sunday.<\/p>\n
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In a statement, Hezbollah said \u201cthe great commander\u201d Tabatabai was killed in \u201ca treacherous Israeli attack on the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of Beirut\u201d, without specifying his position within the group.<\/p>\n
Tabatabai is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the start of a November 2024 ceasefire aimed at ending over a year of hostilities between the two.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military said it \u201celiminated\u201d Tabatabai in the strike, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s office earlier said he was the target of the attack. Israeli media said it was the military\u2019s third attempt to kill him since last year\u2019s war.<\/p>\n
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati had earlier said that Israel\u2019s strike crossed a \u201cred line\u201d and that the group\u2019s leadership was considering whether it would respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strike on the southern suburbs today opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tabatabai was born in 1968 in Beirut to a Lebanese mother and an Iranian father. He grew up in southern Lebanon and joined Hezbollah at the age of 12.<\/p>\n
Lebanon\u2019s Ministry of Public Health said the Israeli attack also wounded 28 people.<\/p>\n
Lebanon\u2019s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that two missiles were fired at the apartment building on al-Arid Street in Haret Hreik, and significant damage was inflicted on cars and surrounding buildings.<\/p>\n
Rescuers search for survivors at the residential building in Beirut\u2019s Haret Hreik neighbourhood [AFP]\u2018Hezbollah in a difficult position\u2019<\/p>\n
Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera\u2019s Zeina Khodr said there is a growing concern in Lebanon that Israel, \u201cwhich has been acting with impunity, will increase its strikes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHezbollah is in a difficult position,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has lost its deterrence capabilities, and without a response, it could invite more Israeli attacks. But if it does respond, it could trigger a bigger Israeli bombardment that could hurt its support base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ali Rizk, a security affairs analyst, told Al Jazeera that a major question now is how Hezbollah is going to respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my humble opinion, I don\u2019t think Hezbollah is ready to give Netanyahu what he wants, meaning to give Netanyahu an excuse to launch an all-out war against Lebanon once again. That could help Netanyahu\u2019s political chances. It could also be very costly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the international community to intervene firmly to stop the Israeli attacks on the country.<\/p>\n
In a statement earlier on Sunday, 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