Israel targets Hezbollah chief of staff in Beirut strike
The target of the strike was military official Ali Tabtabai, according to an Israeli source briefed on the strike and a Lebanese security source. Netanyahu’s office did not say whether Tabtabai had been killed
Israel targeted the chief of staff of Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah group in a strike in the capital Beirut's southern suburbs, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday (23 November).
The strike is the first on the capital's southern suburbs, known for housing Hezbollah officials, in months.
The target of the strike was military official Ali Tabtabai, according to an Israeli source briefed on the strike and a Lebanese security source. Netanyahu's office did not say whether Tabtabai had been killed.
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A senior US official said Israel did not notify the United States in advance about the strike, an Axios reporter said on Sunday in a post on X.
The official said the administration was informed immediately after the strike and a second senior US official said the US knew for days that Israel was planning to escalate strikes in Lebanon, the post said.
Key Hezbollah military leader
The US imposed sanctions on Tabtabai in 2016, identifying him as a key Hezbollah military leader and offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on him.
The strike hit a main road in Beirut's southern suburbs, where residents told Reuters they heard the roar of warplanes before the blast.
People rushed out of their apartment buildings out of fear there would be further strikes, a Reuters reporter in the area said.
At least two people were killed and two dozen were wounded and taken to hospitals in the area, medical sources said.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
Israel's strikes on Hezbollah over the last two years killed its then-leader Hassan Nasrallah, much of the group's top military brass and around 5,000 fighters.
Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday morning before the strike that Israel would continue to fight "terrorism" on several fronts.
"We will continue to do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its ability to threaten us," he said.
Israel has stepped up airstrikes in south Lebanon, pressing a campaign of near-daily attacks which it says is designed to block a military revival by Hezbollah in the border area.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rearm since a US-backed ceasefire last year. The group says it has abided by requirements for it to end its military presence in the border region near Israel, and for the Lebanese army to deploy there.
