Middle East
Undated picture of slain Hezbollah commanders Ibrahim Aqil (left) and Haytham Ali Tabataba'i (right).
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Lebanon’s Hezbollah confirmed on Sunday the killing of Haytham Ali Tabtaba’i in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, hours after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced it had targeted the group’s “chief of staff” in a precision strike in Beirut’s southern suburb.
In a statement, Hezbollah described Tabataba’i as “among the commanders who laid the foundational cornerstone” of the group.
Hours earlier, the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said in a post on X that Israeli forces had killed Tabtaba’i, identifying him as Hezbollah’s chief of staff and a “central figure” who had joined the group in the 1980s.
Adraee added that Tabataba’i “held a series of leadership posts,” including commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces and operations officer in Syria.
The latest war between Hezbollah and Israel began on October 8, following the outbreak of the Gaza war, when the Iran-backed Lebanese group opened a support front to aid Hamas. Tensions escalated further after Israel’s “Pagers Operation” in September 2024 and the subsequent airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
According to Adraee, Tabataba’i played a key role in the “Northern Arrows” operation - the code name Israel uses for its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September 2024.
“At the conclusion of the ‘Northern Arrows’ operation, Tabataba’i assumed the position of Hezbollah’s chief of staff,” Adraee said, “leading the process of rebuilding the group, commanding most of its units, and preparing them for war with Israel.”
He added that following the elimination of much of Hezbollah’s military leadership, Tabataba’i “assumed responsibility for managing the war with Israel.”
Israel vows to “act against attempts to rebuild and arm” Hezbollah and “remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” Adraee noted, emphasizing that the IDF “remains committed to the understandings agreed upon between Israel and Lebanon.”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released footage of their strike on Beirut’s southern suburb, reportedly targeting Haytham Ali Tabataba’i, whom Israeli authorities have identified as Hezbollah’s chief of staff.
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) November 23, 2025
📹: AvichayAdraee/X pic.twitter.com/rsBQZhr8ZA
Of note, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that five people were killed and 28 others injured in the Israeli strike on a residential building in Beirut.
Tabataba’i has long been on international radar.
In October 2016, the US Department of State designated Tabataba’i as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224, authorizing the Treasury and State Departments to blacklist foreign individuals and entities that commit, threaten to commit, or provide financial, material, or technological support for acts of terrorism.
In November 2018, the State Department offered up to $5 million for information leading to Tabataba’i’s identification or location, describing him as a key Hezbollah military commander overseeing the group’s “special forces in both Syria and Yemen” as part of Hezbollah’s broader regional activities.
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