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First Israeli attack on Beirut since June kills five people and injures 25
Alisha Rahaman SarkarMonday 24 November 2025 04:11 GMT
CloseCelebratory gunshots in Beirut after Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire brokered
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Israeli forces on Sunday struck Lebanon's capital for the first time since June, killing Hezbollah's chief of staff Haytham Tabtabai.
The attack on Beirut’s southern suburb, the latest in an unending series of Israeli violations of its ceasefire with the Lebanese group, killed at least five people and injured 25, the country’s health ministry said.
Smoke was seen rising in the busy Haret Hreik neighbourhood, with a video on social media showing dozens of people crowded around the target, a residential apartment building.
The Israeli strike, which came almost exactly a year after the ceasefire came into effect, threatened an escalation just days before Pope Leo XIV was scheduled to visit Lebanon on his first foreign trip.
“We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel,” defence minister Israel Katz said.
The military instructed residents in northern Israel near the Lebanese border to continue with daily routines, indicating that it did not anticipate a response from Hezbollah.
Hezbollah confirmed Tabtabai's death. The group was studying the matter of response “and will take the appropriate decision", Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah's political council, said.
"The strike on the southern suburbs today opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon,” he told reporters.
open image in galleryUndated photo released by Hezbollah Military Media on Sunday shows chief of staff Haytham Tabtabai (AP)Ali Ammar, a Hezbollah parliamentarian, said the attack took place on a civilian area, which was void of any military presence.
“They want to take our weapons. But our weapons will not be taken," Maryam Assaf, who lives nearby and heard the strike, said.
She said it "only gives us more determination, strength, and dignity”.
Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun condemned the strike and accused Israel of refusing to implement its end of the ceasefire deal.
He called on the international community to "intervene with strength and seriousness to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people”.
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks as Israel and the US have pressured Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. Israel asserts that the group is trying to rebuild its military capabilities.
open image in galleryCivil defence workers inspect the damage after an apartment building is attacked by Israeli forces in southern Beirut (AP)Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars over the years. The latest began on 8 October 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, as the Lebanese militant group fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas.
Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon last year that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.
That war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11bn worth of destruction, according to the World Bank.
In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
