Israel’s dramatic strike on Hezbollah’s chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai in Beirut on Sunday should not come as a particular surprise.
The assassination came after a series of warnings from Jerusalem and Washington that the Israel Defense Forces would intensify its air campaign if Lebanon did not move much more quickly to disarm the Shiite terrorist group.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned publicly that Israel would do whatever was necessary to keep Hezbollah from rearming, after the terror group was battered by the Jewish state last year.
“We expect the Lebanese government to uphold its commitments, namely, to disarm Hezbollah. But it’s clear that we’ll exercise our right to self-defense as stipulated in the ceasefire terms,” said the premier. “We won’t let Lebanon become a renewed front against us, and we’ll do what’s necessary.”
A senior IDF official recently told Channel 12 news that stepped-up airstrikes in recent weeks were a “preview” of what Lebanon would face if it did not enhance its disarmament campaign.
Published originally on November 24, 2025.
Read the full article at the Times of Israel.
