Israel Says Killed Top Hezbollah Official In First Attack On Beirut In Months

ISRAEL’S military said it has killed a senior member of the militant group Hezbollah in an air strike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, despite a ceasefire.
It described Ali Tabtai, Hezbollah’s chief of staff, as a veteran of the group who had held a series of senior positions.
Lebanon’s Health ministry said at least five people were killed and 28 others wounded in the strike, which hit an apartment building in the densely populated Dahieh district.
Hezbollah confirmed the strike, Israel’s first on southern Beirut for months, but didn’t disclose their identity.
It comes as Israel escalated its campaign on people and targets it said were linked to Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim group supported by Iran, despite a ceasefire brokered by the United States (US) and France that came into effect last November.
Israeli officials said Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its military capabilities, smuggling weapons into Lebanon and stepping up the production of explosive drones as an alternative to rockets and missiles, and there are growing fears of an escalation of hostilities.
According to the BBC, Lebanon’s President, Joseph Aoun, has urged the international community to put pressure on Israel, which continues to occupy at least five locations in southern Lebanon, to stop the attacks and withdraw from the country, saying the Israeli actions are a violation of the agreement that put an end to 13 months of conflict.
The Lebanese Government has vowed to disarm Hezbollah, but the group has rejected calls to discuss the future of its weapons before Israel stops its attacks, fully withdraws from Lebanon and releases Lebanese prisoners.
A Western diplomatic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the BBC the authorities are under pressure from the Trump administration, which is growing impatient with what they see as the slow progress against the group, considered a terrorist organisation by countries, including the US and the United Kingdom (UK).
The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted after the Lebanese group started firing rockets at Israeli positions the day after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, saying it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.