Israel on Sunday launched strikes targeting a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut, marking an expansion of its military campaign seeking to prevent the terrorist group from regaining power in Lebanon.
The strikes targeted Hezbollah’s chief of staff, Ali Tabtabai, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has warned that the terrorist group has made little progress on disarmament in violation of the ceasefire agreement Jerusalem and Hezbollah reached last year. The attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, known to be frequented by Hezbollah members, follow a series of Israeli air strikes in recent weeks against Lebanon, which borders Israel.
“We will continue to do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its ability to threaten us,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday morning.
Tabtabai was killed in the strike, Israeli media reported, citing an Israeli official. Hezbollah said one member was killed, and suggested it would retaliate against Israel following the attack.
“Everything is possible,” Deputy Chairman of Hezbollah’s Political Council, Mahmoud Qamati, said in a press conference, stating that the official’s identity will be cleared for publication once it is confirmed.
Hezbollah is coordinating its next steps with the Lebanese government and army, Qamati added. The terrorist group will likely attempt to retaliate by carrying out an attack in foreign countries against Jewish targets, or targets identified with Israel or Israelis in various locations worldwide, according to Haaretz, citing Israeli intelligence officials.
The strikes, the first on Beirut since June, were denounced by Lebanon, as the country argues it has taken action to curb Hezbollah’s power.
The strikes killed at least one person and wounded 21 others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Hezbollah-linked networks said the strikes killed at least 5.
The U.S. designated Tabtabai as a terrorist in 2016, identifying him as a key Hezbollah military leader and offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on him.
A senior U.S. official said Israel did not notify Washington in advance about the strike on the Hezbollah commander on Sunday, according to Axios.
The official said the administration was informed immediately after the strike, and a second senior U.S. official said the U.S. knew for days that Israel was planning to escalate strikes in Lebanon.
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“All the talk that ‘we must receive approvals for this’ from one source or another is simply an absolute lie,” Netanyahu told the Security Cabinet Sunday morning.
“We operate independently of anyone. Immediate actions to thwart attacks are taken by the IDF automatically,” he said. “As for the responses, that goes through the Defense Minister and eventually reaches me, and we decide independently of any factor, and that is how it should be.”
