New American Data Reveals Backgrounds of the Southern Suburb Strike

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Israel has heightened tensions following an airstrike today, Sunday, targeting a prominent military leader in Hezbollah in the southern suburb of Beirut, in an attack that has revived fears of a return to the specter of war between the two parties.

In this context, informed American sources revealed to Al Jazeera new data regarding the Israeli strike that targeted Haitham al-Tabtabai, which Hezbollah circles described as a "serious aggression and a breach of a new red line."

Fadi Mansour, Al Jazeera's correspondent at the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon), quoted an American official described as "well-informed about military communications between Washington and Tel Aviv" stating that Israel had informed the United States in advance about the execution of the strike.

However, this official refrained from confirming whether Washington received details about the identity of the target or granted a direct "green light" for the operation.

In this context, Israeli media reported from sources that the target in the southern suburb operation is Haitham al-Tabtabai (known as Abu Ali al-Tabtabai), describing him as the acting chief of staff of Hezbollah and the second person in the party, and that he is one of the oldest military leaders in it.

For its part, a Lebanese security source informed Al Jazeera of the assassination of Hezbollah military leader Haitham al-Tabtabai in the Israeli raid on the suburb.

In light of these developments, the American official placed the attack within the framework of a "continuing escalation" adopted by Israel over the past weeks.

According to the source, Washington sees the situation between Israel and Lebanon as "extremely fragile," and that Israel's increase in the level of its operations is due to two main considerations: the first relates to the capabilities of the Lebanese army, which is "making significant efforts" to complete the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River, but - according to the American assessment - lacks "sufficient capabilities and political mandate," making those efforts "insufficient."

The second consideration is linked to American and Israeli assessments that Hezbollah's capabilities have not diminished since the end of the war, as the party has managed to rebuild its capabilities and stockpile of weapons lost during the war.

These developments raise - according to the same official - Israeli concerns about the durability of any ceasefire.

Since October 2023, the Israeli occupation army has intensified its attacks on Lebanon, amid ongoing media leaks about plans to launch a new attack against it.

Since the signing of the last ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah on November 27, 2024, Israel has been violating the agreement daily, resulting in hundreds of casualties and injuries.

Regarding the five-party mechanism for monitoring the ceasefire, the American official noted that Israel has been accustomed to passing information through this mechanism - which involves the United States - concerning sites suspected of belonging to Hezbollah, and when the Lebanese army does not act, "Israel resorts to carrying out direct strikes," sometimes "without prior warning."

In contrast, Washington - according to the American official - is working to activate the joint mechanism and the five-party committee that includes Lebanon, Israel, the United States, France, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with the aim of "preventing a slide into a wide confrontation."

The United States has pushed for the committee meetings to be intensified to be held every two weeks due to the "sensitivity of the field situation," according to the American official.

In the first response from Hezbollah to the strike, political council member Mahmoud Qamati stated that "the Israeli aggression targeted a jihadist figure," and that the party is working to verify their identity.

Qamati described the operation as "aggression and a breach of a new red line," emphasizing that "the resistance is the one that decides how to respond" in full coordination with the state and the Lebanese army, according to his statement.