Israel Braces for Possible Retaliation After Killing of Hezbollah’s Chief of Staff

The IDF raised alert levels along the northern frontier on Monday, hours after Israel killed Haytham Ali Tabataba’i, Hezbollah’s acting military chief, in a strike deep inside Beirut. Military officials said they are preparing for several possible retaliation scenarios, though the terror group has not issued a direct threat.

According to the IDF, readiness has been increased across the sector, with air defenses reinforced and units ordered to maintain elevated alertness. Officials said potential Hezbollah responses include rocket fire toward central Israel, an attempted infiltration or raid on IDF positions, or attacks carried out by the Houthis in Yemen on Hezbollah’s behalf. Another scenario under discussion is that the organization, weakened by two years of war, may choose not to respond at all.

Tabataba’i was killed Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on a safehouse in Beirut’s Dahieh district, a Hezbollah stronghold, marking Israel’s first strike there since June. The IDF described the operation as part of an effort it called “Black Friday” and confirmed the commander’s death several hours later, releasing footage documenting the strike. Hezbollah subsequently acknowledged the killing, announcing the “martyrdom of the great jihadist commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai” in what it called “a treacherous Israeli attack on the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of Beirut.”

Iran condemned the assassination, calling it a violation of Lebanon’s ceasefire agreement and “a brutal attack against Lebanese sovereignty.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry said it “calls to prosecute the leaders of the Zionist entity for the acts of terror and war crimes they are committing.”

Lebanese leaders issued similar reactions. President Joseph Aoun urged the international community to intervene “firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned the strike. Hezbollah officials said the killing constituted a “crossing of a red line,” while a Lebanese analyst close to the group described it as “an escalation that reshuffles the cards.”

As tensions rose, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir carried out a surprise inspection Monday afternoon as part of the General Staff exercise “Shield and Strength.” The drill was designed to test readiness for sudden battlefield developments and to implement lessons from the October 7 war. Zamir observed units as they rehearsed rapid-response scenarios before gathering reservists for a briefing.

“This exercise is part of our lessons-learned process and is meant to strengthen the IDF’s readiness at all levels and in all sectors for complex surprise scenarios,” Zamir said. He added that “after two years of war, our activity continues on all fronts” and emphasized the priority of protecting border communities: “Before anything else, we are defending the home, and we are preparing for that.”

Zamir said the IDF will “continue to act wherever required while maintaining broad and continuous readiness,” stressing that the lessons from the exercise will guide decision-making moving forward.