An airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut has resulted in the deaths of five individuals and left 25 others injured, as reported by Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Hezbollah has confirmed the death of Tabtabai in the attack. The group warned that this strike, which comes nearly a year after a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, could lead to an escalation in hostilities. This warning arrives just days before Pope Leo XIV is set to embark on his inaugural foreign trip to Lebanon.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated, “We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel.” Meanwhile, the Israeli military has advised residents near the Lebanese border in northern Israel to maintain their regular routines, suggesting that an immediate military retaliation from Hezbollah is not expected.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Tabtabai of spearheading efforts to rearm Hezbollah.
In recent weeks, Israeli airstrikes over southern Lebanon have increased, while both Israel and the United States have been urging Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. Israel claims the group is attempting to reconstruct its military strength.
The recent conflict is one of several involving Hezbollah over the past 40 years. The most recent war resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 people in Lebanon, including many civilians, and caused approximately $11 billion in damage, according to World Bank estimates. In Israel, 127 lives were lost, including 80 soldiers.
On Tuesday, an Israeli strike killed 13 people in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the southern city of Sidon in the deadliest attack since the ceasefire went into effect. The military said it targeted a military facility belonging to the Palestinian Hamas militant group. Hamas denied it has any military facilities in the crowded camp.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, said he was sanctioning 13 army officials who were top commanders on October 7, 2023. Some were censured and others forced into retirement.
Among those punished were the then-heads of military intelligence, the army’s operation branch and the Southern Command, which is responsible for the Gaza Strip. All three men have already resigned. They were removed from reserve duty and told their military careers are over.
Zamir noted the “severe, resounding and systemic failure” to protect Israelis before and during the attack as well as the need to “set a clear standard of command responsibility.”
