(MENAFN) An Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Sunday killed Haytham Ali Tabatabai, a senior commander in Hezbollah, also known by his alias Abu Ali Tabatabai. The strike occurred in Haret Hreik, a Hezbollah stronghold in the Lebanese capital, and both the militant group and Israel Defense Forces confirmed his death. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the attack claimed at least five lives and left 28 others injured.

Tabatabai joined Hezbollah as a teenager following the organization’s formation during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. He was among the few long-serving commanders to survive Israel’s targeted killings last year. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed force opposing Israel’s regional influence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the operation, calling it part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to dismantle the group, which it labels as a terrorist organization. “It is not for nothing that the US put a bounty of five million dollars on his head,” Netanyahu wrote on X, referring to a reward issued by the US in 2016, a year after Tabatabai survived an earlier assassination attempt.

Israeli officials described Tabatabai as the organization’s “second-in-command” within its current military hierarchy, while Hezbollah referred to him as a “great commander.” Netanyahu asserted that Tabatabai oversaw Hezbollah’s rearmament efforts as the group rebuilt its capabilities following setbacks, including the disruption of booby-trapped pagers last year. He argued that weakening the organization would help secure “a better future… for every citizen in Lebanon.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike, urging the international community to “assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.”

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