Israel killed Hezbollah’s top military official in a strike on a southern Beirut suburb, the Israeli military said, shattering a fragile truce that has struggled to hold for a year.
The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted Ali Tabtabai, described as Hezbollah’s acting chief of staff, in the first strike on the outskirts of Beirut in months. A statement said he commanded most of the group’s units and had been working to restore them to readiness for conflict with Israel. There was still no formal confirmation from Hezbollah, although senior figure Mahmoud Qmati acknowledged that a central operative had been hit. Standing near the collapsed building in Haret Hreik, he said the strike crossed a red line and added that Hezbollah’s leadership would determine next steps.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported five dead and 28 wounded. The blast tore into a multi storey building, sending concrete and metal down onto cars on the main road below. Residents rushed out into the street, shaken by the force of the explosion and unsure if more strikes were coming.
The United States sanctioned Tabtabai in 2016 and offered up to 5 million dollars for information on him. The attack came days before Pope Leo is due to make his first foreign trip to Lebanon, a visit many in the country hoped would signal a shift towards calmer times.
The strike piled new strain onto a ceasefire agreed in November 2024 to end a year of fighting set off when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli posts after the October 7, 2023 attack carried out by Hamas. Israel has continued near daily strikes across Lebanon since the truce, saying it is targeting arms depots, fighters and attempts by Hezbollah to rebuild. Officials in Jerusalem have insisted they will block any move by the group to recover strength.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged international partners to act to stop further Israeli attacks, saying the situation risked slipping into another cycle of escalation. Beirut maintains that Israeli strikes and the continued occupation of several southern posts violate the truce, while Israel says Hezbollah is trying to regroup in the south and wants Lebanon to do more to control unauthorised weapons.
Israel says it removed much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership during the year long war, including its former leader Hassan Nasrallah. For now, Hezbollah has not fired on Israel since the ceasefire began and says it continues to observe the agreement despite repeated Israeli raids.
Ankara has condemned an Israeli plan to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as state property, a move widely criticised internationally and...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is ready to pursue diplomacy with Iran as nuclear talks resume in Geneva, using a visit to Budapes...
Geneva is set to host two sets of negotiations on Tuesday, with U.S. officials meeting Iranian representatives in the morning and a trilateral session...
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has moved swiftly to consolidate his authority following the dismissal of his long-time ally Kamchybek Tashiev, head of...
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (16 February), state-linked media reported. The drill too...
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (16 February), state-linked media reported. The drill took place a day before renewed nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Geneva.
The 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC) unfolded over three intense days in Munich, confronting a defining question of our era: has the post-Second World War international order collapsed - and if so, what will replace it?
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Geneva on Monday ahead of a second round of indirect nuclear talks with the United States, according to Iranian state media.
Azerbaijan and Serbia have formally launched a Strategic Partnership Council, marking a new phase in bilateral relations and placing cooperation under direct presidential oversight.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said China has the power to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, arguing that Beijing is enabling Moscow’s military campaign.
Austria’s Janine Flock won the gold medal in the women’s skeleton event at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Saturday.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said the United States could evaluate its own interests separately from those of Israel in ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday (15 February) called it “troubling” a report by five European allies blaming Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using a toxin from poison dart frogs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia’s decision to change the leadership of its delegation for upcoming peace talks in Geneva appeared to be an attempt to delay progress.
Ankara has condemned an Israeli plan to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as state property, a move widely criticised internationally and described by the UN and the International Court of Justice as inconsistent with international law governing occupied territories.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has moved swiftly to consolidate his authority following the dismissal of his long-time ally Kamchybek Tashiev, head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS).
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Geneva on Monday ahead of a second round of indirect nuclear talks with the United States, according to Iranian state media.
Azerbaijan and Serbia have formally launched a Strategic Partnership Council, marking a new phase in bilateral relations and placing cooperation under direct presidential oversight.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said the United States could evaluate its own interests separately from those of Israel in ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment