Israel kills Hezbollah leader in Beirut strike

Israel killed Hezbollah’s top military official in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, the Israeli military said, despite a U.S.-brokered truce a year ago.

The strike, the first on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital in months, targeted Hezbollah’s acting chief of staff, Ali Tabtabai, the military said in a statement.

Hezbollah confirmed the death of Tabtabai in a statement, mourning him as “the great jihadist commander” who had “worked to confront Israeli enemy until the last moment of his blessed life,” showing his seniority, but without giving details about his exact role.

Israel’s strike crossed a “red line”, Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati said as he stood near the bombed-out building in the Haret Hreik suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Hezbollah’s leadership would decide on whether and how the group would respond, he added.

Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike killed five people and wounded 28 more. It hit a multi-storey building, sending debris crashing into cars on the main road below.

People rushed out of their apartment buildings, fearing further bombardment, a Reuters reporter said.

The United States imposed sanctions on Tabtabai in 2016, identifying him as a key Hezbollah leader and offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on him.

The Israeli military statement said Tabtabai “commanded most of Hezbollah’s units and worked hard to restore them to readiness for war with Israel”.

In a short televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its forces and that he expected the Lebanese government “to fulfill its obligation to disarm Hezbollah.”