The IDF on Sunday eliminated Hezbollah leader Ali Tabatabai, one of Hezbollah’s most prominent figures and currently the terror group’s de facto chief of staff.

The airstrike was carried out in the Dahiya quarter of Beirut at about noon, the IDF spokesperson confirmed. It is the first time that Israel has carried out a strike in Beirut in five months.

Tabatabai is considered one of the organization’s most influential figures and the highest-ranking person after Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem.

According to reports, the strike hit the fourth and fifth floors of a ten-story building on Al-Arid Street in the Haret Hreik neighborhood in Dahiya.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement confirming the strike. “A short while ago, in the heart of Beirut, the IDF attacked the Hezbollah Chief-of-Staff, who had been leading the terrorist organization’s buildup and rearmament.”

“Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the attack upon the recommendation of the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief-of-Staff. Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times.”

Tabatabai was born in Beirut in 1968, the son of an Iranian father and a Lebanese mother. In the past, he commanded the Radwan force and led covert operations in Syria and Yemen. He was promoted after the elimination of Hezbollah’s top leaders in Operation Northern Arrows. The US previously set a five-million-dollar reward offer for his capture.

The strike comes after another day of Israeli strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon and the elimination of Hezbollah commander Kamel Raza Karnabesh in the Mifadon area. According to the IDF, Karnabesh was involved in efforts to rebuild the organization’s cells and worked to deepen Hezbollah’s military foothold in the region.

In another strike carried out yesterday under the leadership of Division 91, a Hezbollah operative was killed in the village of Hula. That operative served as the organization’s representative in the village and was responsible for managing ties between Hezbollah and local residents in military and economic matters, including seizing private property for operational purposes.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)