The Israeli military announced that despite the ceasefire, it carried out an airstrike on the southern outskirts of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, killing a senior Hezbollah official.
The report described Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Ali Tabtai, as a Hezbollah veteran who had held a series of senior positions.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least five people were killed and 28 wounded in the airstrike, which struck an apartment building in the densely populated Dahieh district.
Hezbollah confirmed the attack targeted a senior commander.I said I crossed a “red line” Their identities were not disclosed.
The strike was Israel’s first airstrike in southern Beirut in months.
It comes as Israel has expanded its campaign against people and targets linked to Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group backed by Iran, despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France last November.
Israeli officials say Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its military, smuggling weapons into Lebanon and stepping up production of explosive drones instead of rockets and missiles, raising concerns about an escalation of hostilities.
“Under my leadership, the State of Israel will not allow Hezbollah to reestablish power,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after the attack. “We will not allow Hezbollah to once again pose a threat to the State of Israel.”
He said he expected the Lebanese government to “fulfill its commitment to disarm Hezbollah.”
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has called on the international community to put pressure on Israel, which continues to occupy at least five areas in southern Lebanon, to stop its attacks and withdraw from the country. Israel’s actions violate the agreement that ended the 13-month conflict.
The Lebanese government has pledged to disarm Hezbollah but has rejected calls to discuss the future of its weapons before Israel stops its attacks, withdraws completely from Lebanon and releases Lebanese prisoners.
A Western diplomatic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the BBC that authorities were under pressure from the Trump administration. The Trump administration is growing impatient at what it sees as slow progress against the group, which is considered a terrorist organization by countries including the United States and Britain.
The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah exploded after the Lebanese group began firing rockets at Israeli positions the day after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Lebanese authorities said the Israeli attack killed about 4,000 people there, including many civilians, and forced the displacement of more than 1.2 million residents. Israeli authorities said more than 80 soldiers and 47 civilians were killed in the fighting.
The U.S. government sanctioned Tabtai in 2016 and designated him a terrorist. There is a $5 million (£3.8 million) reward for information about him.
The United States described him as a key Hezbollah military leader who once commanded Hezbollah special forces in Syria and Yemen, adding that his actions in those countries were part of a larger effort by Hezbollah to provide training, materiel and personnel to support its activities in the volatile region.
