Main events on November 23rd
- Hezbollah has confirmed that top military commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai was killed in an Israeli air strike on an apartment complex in Beirut that killed at least four others and wounded dozens.
- Tabatabai, chief of staff of the group’s armed wing, is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the start of a November 2024 ceasefire.
- The attack came just two days after Lebanon’s president announced the country had agreed to hold negotiations following intensifying Israeli attacks.
- A Hamas delegation has met Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss Israel’s breaches of the ceasefire agreement.
- Israel’s attacks have continued across Gaza, with the Health Ministry saying on Sunday that 21 bodies had been brought to hospitals in 24 hours.
- In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces and settlers on Sunday night.
What we know about Israel’s attack on Beirut
- Hezbollah says its top military commander, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, has been killed in addition to four other people in an Israeli air strike on Beirut.
- Lebanon’s Health Ministry says 28 people were wounded in the attack in the Dahiyeh area of southern Beirut on Sunday.
- The National News Agency reports two missiles struck an apartment building on al-Arid Street, causing major damage to nearby cars and buildings.
- The Israeli military said it “eliminated” Tabatabai, while Netanyahu’s office earlier confirmed he was the intended target.
- Israeli media have reported this was the military’s third attempt to kill him since last year’s war.
- Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati said the strike crossed a “red line” and that the group’s leadership was weighing its response.
- Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun urged the international community to intervene to stop Israeli attacks on his country.
People gather near the debris following an Israeli military strike on a residential building in Beirut’s southern suburbs that killed a top Hezbollah commander
Hezbollah weighs response as pressure mounts after Beirut strike
Hezbollah has yet to say how it will respond to the killing of senior commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai.
Mahmoud Qmati, vice president of the group’s Political Council, said the strike marked “yet another ceasefire violation” and accused Israel of escalating the conflict “with the green light given by the United States”.
Despite the ceasefire agreed last November, Hezbollah has continued to absorb Israeli strikes in the south of the country.
Security affairs analyst Ali Rizk said the crucial question now is whether the group will act, saying Hezbollah is unlikely to “give Netanyahu an excuse to launch an all-out war against Lebanon”, which he warned could be more costly for the group than the current situation.
Geopolitical analyst Joe Macaron added that US policy has shifted, saying Washington is “no longer restraining Israel” and is instead reinforcing Israeli operations in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon.
