Hezbollah confirmed that its top military commander, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment block in southern Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood.

Tabatabai, chief of staff of Hezbollah’s armed wing, was among at least five people killed, with 28 others wounded in the strike.

Israel said it “eliminated” Tabatabai, marking its third attempt to target him since last year’s war, and Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed he was the intended target.

Senior Hezbollah officials warned the attack crossed a “red line” and could lead to broader escalation across Lebanon, Al-Jazeera has reported.

Tabatabai, born in 1968 to a Lebanese mother and Iranian father, joined Hezbollah at age 12 and was the most senior commander killed since the November 2024 ceasefire.