Nov. 23 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a strike against Haytham Ali Tabatabai, a senior Hezbollah official, garnering condemnation from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun for an alleged ceasefire violation.
The attempted assassination was announced by Netanyahu’s office, which accused Ali Tabatabai of leading Hezbollah’s rearmament efforts since the group’s ceasefire with Israel was reached in November 2024. It marked the latest among repeated strikes within Lebanon since the ceasefire started.
Netanyahu’s office said that it had conducted the strike “in the heart of Beirut” and that Israel “is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times.”
But Aoun said in a statement that the attack, which happened in Beirut’s southern suburbs, is “proof” that Netanyahu’s government “does not care about repeated calls to stop its attacks on Lebanon.”
“Lebanon, which has committed to a cessation of hostilities for nearly a year now and has presented one initiative after another, renews its call to the international community to shoulder its responsibility and intervene forcefully and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people,” Aoun said.
He added that such measures from the international community are needed “in order to prevent any deterioration that would bring tension back to the region on the one hand, and more bloodshed on the other.”
Hezbollah-run news agency Al-Manar reported Sunday that at least five people were killed in the strike, with 28 other people injured. It was not immediately clear if Ali Tabatabai was killed or injured in Israel’s attack.
Iran’s Embassy in Beirut denounced Israel for its “criminal attacks” and called its rival nation a “terrorist entity.”
“These cowardly attacks will not undermine the determination of those who are rightfully entitled to their rights,” Iran’s Embassy in Beirut said in its statement. “Nor will they weaken their unwavering will to confront injustice.”
