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BEIRUT: Hundreds of people gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday (Nov 24) to mourn Hezbollah’s top military commander Haytham Ali Tabtabai and four other fighters killed in an Israeli strike on the city’s outskirts the previous day.

The targeted killing was a type of operation that had become rarer since a US-brokered truce took effect last year, and came a day after Lebanon marked Independence Day and deepened fears of renewed escalation.

Funeral processions snaked through the neighbourhoods of the capital’s southern suburbs, with mourners chanting against Israel and the United States. Both countries have been pressing Lebanon to move faster to disarm Hezbollah in line with the 2024 ceasefire agreement.

“We will not leave our weapons, we will not leave our land!” the crowd shouted. Senior Hezbollah political figures attended, though it was unclear if military officials were present.

ISRAEL TARGETS HEZBOLLAH’S NEXT GENERATION

The November 2024 ceasefire was meant to end a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, triggered by Hezbollah’s rocket fire on Israeli posts a day after the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

During that conflict, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, his expected successor and much of the group’s top military command.

Tabtabai, 57, quickly rose through the ranks to fill the gaps left by slain commanders, according to the Israeli military and a Lebanese security source. After the truce, he became Hezbollah’s top military official and sat on its Jihad Council, the body overseeing operations.

Israel now appeared to be targeting the group’s “next generation” of commanders, a Lebanese security source said. “Israel is peeling them off layer by layer,” added a Western diplomat working on Lebanon.

SURVEILLANCE DRONES OVER BEIRUT

Israel has maintained near-daily strikes on Lebanon since the truce, hitting what it describes as Hezbollah arms depots, fighters and reconstruction efforts. Strikes have intensified in recent weeks.

“Anyone who raises his hand against Israel — his hand will be cut off,” said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are determined to continue the policy of maximum enforcement in Lebanon and everywhere.”

Lebanese security sources said Israel had continued gathering intelligence using surveillance drones. On Monday, Israeli drones flew over Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley, the source said.

Israel’s advanced tracking capabilities have unsettled Hezbollah supporters. Military analyst Malek Ayoub told the group’s Al Manar TV that Israel could use facial-recognition technology to identify Hezbollah figures from footage of Tabtabai’s funeral.

“Artificial intelligence can identify any of those faces to build Israel’s bank of targets,” Ayoub said.