Major Escalation
BREAKING: Israel Strikes Hezbollah’s De Facto Chief of Staff in Beirut | WATCH
After a year of (largely) sitting around and watching Hezbollah rebuild and re-arm, Israel has had enough. If this elimination was indeed successful, it would go a long way to proving to Hezbollah that the Mossad can get to anyone, anywhere and that Hezbollah's ceasefire violations will be answered painfully.
Israel recently conducted a targeted strike on a high-profile terror target eliminated in Beirut: Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s second-in-command after Secretary-General Naim Qassem, and the group’s acting Chief of Staff. Tabatabai has been one of Hezbollah’s most senior military figures in recent years.
Tabatabai was eliminated in his safe house in Dahieh. According to security officials, in recent months he had been planning multiple terror attacks against Israel and was actively pushing for a military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
Over the past year, Tabatabai jointly headed Hezbollah’s military apparatus alongside Muhammad Haydar, with both men responsible for the group’s rebuilding and renewed military expansion.
He commanded Hezbollah’s special forces units and, following the earlier elimination of the organization’s top military leadership, effectively became Hezbollah’s highest-ranking military official.
He was targeted after Israeli intelligence concluded that he was not a restraining force within the organization but, on the contrary, a central figure driving Hezbollah toward renewed military buildup and aggressive action against Israel.
Israel believes that the elimination was successful.
His rise to power:
Before his ascent to Hezbollah’s senior command, he held a series of high-level positions, including commander of the elite Radwan Force and head of Unit 3800, the Hezbollah unit operating under Iran’s Quds Force and responsible, among other tasks, for training and preparing militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen.
During the fighting on the northern front, Hezbollah’s previous “Chiefs of Staff,” Fouad Shukr and Ibrahim Aqil, were eliminated. Another senior commander killed alongside Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was Ali Karaki.
Tabatabai assumed Karaki’s role after Karaki was assassinated. At the end of the war, he was appointed to the organization’s top military leadership alongside Abu Ali Reza and Talal Hamiyah.
According to an unverified report, an Al-Manar correspondent issued an urgent call to citizens to clear the roads for ambulances, reporting that a large number of dead and wounded are currently being evacuated from the scene.
Al Mayadeen reports that one person were killed and three were injured during the attack.
A senior American official told Axios reporter Barak Ravid: Israel did not inform us in advance about the attack. We were updated immediately after the attack was carried out. The official also noted that the US had known for several days that Israel was about to escalate its attacks in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the time or target of the attack.
Israel has designated the strike targeting Hezbollah's Chief of Staff as "Operation Black Friday."
According to Israel Live News:
"In 2018, the United States announced a reward of up to 5 million dollars for information on senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai, describing him as a key military leader who ran the group’s special forces in Syria and Yemen and helped train, arm and guide proxy militias for Iran across the region. Washington said his role was to build and lead elite Hezbollah units that fought for the Assad regime and supported the Houthi movement, turning him into a central figure in Hezbollah’s external operations and one of the men most responsible for exporting the organization’s terror and instability beyond Lebanon."
Open Source Intel added that "Israel had tried to eliminate him twice during the war [and that] this was the third time."
Among the top leaders who have survived within the organization are the current Secretary-General Naim Qassem, described as a non-charismatic figure, and Talal Hamiyah, who heads Unit 910, responsible for overseas terrorist operations, including attacks against Western targets. Additionally, Muhammad Haydar, regarded as a military advisor within the group, has seen his status rise following this series of high-profile assassinations.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated:
A short while ago, the IDF struck Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff in the heart of Beirut — the man responsible for the terror organization’s buildup and armament.
Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the strike on the recommendation of the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief of Staff.
Israel is determined to pursue its objectives anywhere and at any time.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on the Strike Against Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff:
“We will continue to act with full force to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the State of Israel.
Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are determined to continue enforcing a policy of maximum pressure in Lebanon and everywhere.
We will not allow a return to the reality that existed before October 7.”
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir interrupted personal conversations with senior officers from 7/10 in favor of the explosive assassination of Hezbollah's de facto Chief of Staff Tabatabai.
The intelligence arrived explosively - and therefore the assassination had to be quickly approved by the Chief of Staff and Prime Minister Netanyahu. The Chief of Staff went down to the pit to command the assassination from there. After the attack. the Chief of Staff returned to his office and is now continuing his personal conversations.
Israel still does not have final intelligence confirmation that Tabatabai was indeed eliminated, however three bodies have been removed from the attack site.
While Hezbollah may respond with its own rockets, Naim Qassem, Muhammad Haydar and Hezbollah itself just got a rude awakening - Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah terror again and they will not sit idle while Hezbollah rebuilds.
In fact, Lebanon has been warned of the consequences of failing to disarm Hezbollah time and again.
Hezbollah better wake up (or die trying).