Israel had already eliminated most of Iran-backed Hezbollah's leadership during a war that raged between October 2023 and November 2024.

The Israeli military on Sunday killed Hezbollah's top military official, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, in a strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital that came despite a year-long ceasefire.

His killing was announced by Israel's military. Hezbollah has not commented on his fate, although Lebanese security sources confirmed he was the target of Israel's strike.

Israel had already eliminated most of Iran-backed Hezbollah's leadership during a war that raged between October 2023 and November 2024, when a US-brokered truce was agreed.

But Tabatabai, who was appointed as the group's chief of staff after its recent war with Israel, was killed in a rare post-ceasefire operation against a senior Hezbollah figure.

Military leader rose through Hezbollah's ranks

Tabatabai was born in Lebanon to a father with Iranian roots and a Lebanese mother, according to a senior Lebanese security source.

He was not a founding member of Hezbollah but was part of its "second generation," deploying with the group to fight alongside its allies in Syria and Yemen, the source said.

Israel's military said Tabatabai joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and held several senior posts, including in its Radwan Force, an elite fighting unit. Israel killed most Radwan figures last year ahead of its ground invasion into Lebanon.

During last year's war, Tabatabai led Hezbollah's operations division and rose in rank as other top commanders were eliminated, the Israeli military's statement said.

Once the ceasefire came into force, Tabatabai was appointed chief of staff and "worked extensively to restore their readiness for war with Israel," according to the statement.

The Lebanese security source confirmed Tabatabai was swiftly promoted as other top Hezbollah officials were killed, and had been appointed chief of staff over the last year.

The Alma Center, a security research and teaching organization in Israel, said Tabatabai had survived other Israeli attacks both in Syria and during the war in Lebanon.