Hezbollah buries top commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai after Israeli strike, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards call for retaliation amid ceasefire tensions
BEIRUT: Hezbollah held a funeral for its top military commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai on Monday, a day after he was killed in an Israeli strike on south Beirut.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards declared “the right of the Axis of Resistance and Lebanese Hezbollah to avenge the blood of the brave fighters of Islam is unquestionable.”
Tabatabai represents the most senior Hezbollah commander killed since a November 2024 ceasefire aimed to halt over a year of hostilities.
Hundreds of supporters joined the funeral procession in Beirut’s southern suburbs, an AFP correspondent reported.
Coffins were draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flags as the crowd chanted slogans against Israel and America.
Israel’s military stated it “eliminated the terrorist Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s chief of general staff.”
Hezbollah confirmed Tabatabai and four other members died in Sunday’s attack.
The group said Tabatabai assumed the military leadership role after the latest war with Israel, which saw senior commanders including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah killed.
Israel has conducted near-daily strikes on Lebanon since the ceasefire, typically targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure.
The truce required Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River and dismantle military infrastructure there.
Under a government plan, Lebanon’s army is to complete disarming Hezbollah in the border area by year’s end.
Hezbollah has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed he would “not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its power” after the killing.
He urged Lebanon’s government to “fulfil its commitment to disarm Hezbollah.”
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP the leadership currently “tends to adopt the utmost forms of diplomacy.”
Senior Hezbollah official Ali Damush told mourners Israel aimed to push Hezbollah into “surrendering and submitting, but this goal will never be achieved.”
He said Israel “should remain worried” about a potential Hezbollah response.
Atlantic Council researcher Nicholas Blanford told AFP that “Hezbollah’s options are very limited.”
He explained that while Hezbollah’s base demands revenge, a direct response would trigger severe Israeli retaliation.
Sunday’s strike was the most significant blow to Hezbollah since the ceasefire due to Tabatabai’s seniority, Blanford added.
Lebanon’s army says it is implementing its disarmament plan, but the US and Israel accuse authorities of stalling.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attack, saying “the only way to consolidate stability” was through “extending the state’s authority over all its territory.”
France’s foreign ministry and UN chief Antonio Guterres’s spokesman expressed concern and urged restraint.
The UN reminded parties that “civilians and civilian areas must not be targeted.” – AFP
