Haytham Ali Tabatabai, widely known as Abu Ali Tabatabai, is one of Hezbollah's most seasoned and discreet military commanders - a figure long regarded by Israel and Western agencies as central to the movement's defence capabilities.
Israel claimed on Sunday to have targeted him in a strike on a residential building in Beirut's southern suburbs, an attack that Hezbollah has not yet confirmed and which struck a civilian neighbourhood.
Born in 1968 to a Lebanese mother and an Iranian father, Tabatabai is part of Hezbollah's earliest generation of fighters who emerged during the group's formative years.
He helped establish the elite Radwan force and was close to Imad Moughniyeh, the influential Hezbollah military strategist killed in a 2008 Israeli operation in Damascus.
According to the French language daily L'Orient–Le Jour, his responsibilities expanded further after the assassinations of senior Hezbollah commanders Fouad Shokor, Ibrahim Akil and Ali Karaki in 2024 - killings widely attributed to Israel.
Tabatabai survived several previous Israeli attempts on his life, including a 2015 strike in Quneitra that killed senior IRGC and Hezbollah members.
Israeli media routinely depict him as a key obstacle to Israel's regional objectives, describing him as one of Hezbollah's most capable battlefield leaders and an influential figure within the movement's security wing.
He is closely aligned with Wafic Safa and firmly opposed to any pressure aimed at dismantling Hezbollah's defensive arsenal.
The Israeli Alma Centre says Tabatabai oversaw Hezbollah's Nasar, Aziz and Badr units, operating from Saida to the border areas repeatedly targeted by Israeli violations.
He previously commanded Radwan forces and has been linked to contingency planning in the Lebanon-Israel border area.
He has also coordinated with allied groups in Yemen, Iraq and Syria as part of a broader regional front resisting Israeli and US influence.
The United States placed him under sanctions in 2016 and later offered up to USD 5 million for information on his whereabouts, part of a wider campaign targeting Hezbollah's senior leadership.
Sunday's strike was Israel's first attack on Beirut's southern suburbs since June and formed part of a pattern of Israeli escalation despite the 2024 ceasefire.
Israel claimed it had targeted Hezbollah's "chief of staff", and Israeli media framed Tabatabai as the organisation's "second-in-command" after the 2024 killing of Fouad Shokor - another assassination by Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he authorised the latest strike after receiving what he called "updated intelligence".
Hezbollah said one of its commanders was targeted, but it did not disclose a name. Officials told local media that the group remains "fully committed to coordination with the Lebanese state" in formulating a response.
Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as one that struck "a purely residential area", highlighting the civilian nature of the site.