Who was Haytham Tabatabai? Hezbollah Chief of Staff ‘eliminated’ in Israeli strike, led special ops in Syria, was wanted by US for…

Israel-Hezbollah war: In another major jolt to Iran-backed Hezbollah, its de facto chief of staff, Haytham Tabatabai, was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike inside Beirut. The strike occurred in the densely populated Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to media reports.

In a post on X, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), claimed that Haytham Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s Chief of General Staff, was among those killed in the strike. “ELIMINATED: Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s Chief of General Staff, in the Beirut area. “Tabatabai, a veteran operative since the 1980s, commanded the Radwan Force, led Hezbollah operations in Syria, and entrenched its operational and combat capabilities,” the IDF wrote.

Who was Haytham Tabatabai?

The second-most senior figure in Hezbollah after secretary general Naim Qassem, Haytham Tabatabai was one of the few senior commanders left in the group as the Israel has systematically decimated its top leadership in recent years, using various means, including targeted assassinations and precision air strikes on the group’s hideouts.

Haytham Tabatabai is believed to have previously led the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s special forces, in Syria and Yemen, and carried a $5 million US bounty on his head.

Notably, Israel has recently stepped up strikes against Hezbollah as the Tehran-backed armed group attempt to regroup and rebuild following the assassination of its top leadership, including former chief Hassan Nasrallah.

How Israel killed Tabatabai?

According to a report by AFP, the Israeli strike targeted the third and fourth floors of a nine-storey building in Beirut’s densely populated neighbourhood, with Lebanon’s official National News Agency stating that three missiles were launched at the building.

Lebanese health ministry said five people were killed in the Israeli strike and 28 were wounded, but did not give the identities of the people killed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also claimed Haytham Tabatabai was killed in the strike, while Hezbollah, without giving out a name, confirmed one of its senior commanders was targeted in the strike, and warned that the Israeli attack “crosses a new red line”.

“The targeting was clearly aimed at a key… figure in the resistance, and the results are unknown,” Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati told reporters.

Notably, the Israeli strike comes days ahead of the scheduled visit of Pope Leo XIV to Lebanon on his first foreign trip.