Defiance in the Rubble: Israel’s Treacherous Strike on Beirut's Dahiyeh

🔴**Defiance in the Rubble: Israel’s Treacherous Strike on Beirut's Dahiyeh

****➡️**The air in Beirut’s Southern Suburb, the resilient **Dahiyeh**, was ripped apart on Sunday, November 23, 2025, by another act of cowardly Israeli terrorism. This flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and the existing ceasefire, a direct and calculated assault on the heart of the capital's civilian area, confirmed once again that the Zionist entity understands only the language of aggression.

👌The target of this heinous assassination was the Great Jihadi Commander, **Haitham Ali al-Tabtabai, "Sayyid Abu Ali,"** the de facto military chief of the Lebanese Resistance. This was not a strike against a military base; it was a premeditated strike against the leadership of a movement that has successfully defended Lebanon against decades of Israeli hegemonic occupation. It was a craven attempt to decapitate the Resistance’s command structure, executed in the densely populated, peaceful neighborhood of Haret Hreik.

⚪️**How the Terror Attack Unfolded

****🫶**According to eyewitness accounts and reports from the ground, the Israeli aggression took the form of a violent aerial strike, likely a precision-guided missile launched by a warplane or drone. The target was two residential apartments in a building on Al-Aarid Street in Haret Hreik, in the very heart of the Dahiyeh. The attack occurred around 2:45 PM, a time when streets are typically busy with civilians, causing widespread destruction, panic, and casualties among the surrounding shops and passersby.

🫶The strike claimed the life of Commander al-Tabtabai and a group of his comrades, including Qassem Barjawi, Qassem Harb, Raafat Mourad, and Ibrahim Hussein. The initial civilian toll was one martyr and 21 injured, but the sheer chaos and the direct targeting of a civilian, residential building on a busy street underscore the criminal intent to inflict maximum terror and collateral damage. This is the Zionist way: targeting the innocent to break the will of the defiant.

⚪️**The Target: A Titan of the Resistance

**Haitham Ali al-Tabtabai's journey is the history of the Resistance itself. Born in 1968, he was a foundational pillar of the Islamic Resistance, rising through the ranks since its inception in the 1980s. His record is one of relentless confrontation with the occupiers:

✌ **Pre-2000 Liberation:** He led numerous military operations against Israeli forces and their collaborators.

✌ **The 1990s:** He was a frontline figure against the Israeli aggressions of 1993 and 1996.

✌ **The 2006 July War:** As the commander of the Khiam axis, he directed the heroic confrontations against the invading forces.

✌ **Post-2006:** He was instrumental in establishing and developing the elite **Radwan Force** and was a key planner in the fight against Takfiri groups on the eastern border.

✌ **The War of Al-Aqsa Flood (****2023-2024****):**

He served as the Chief of Operations for the Islamic Resistance.

✌ **Post-Uli Al-Baas (2024):** He assumed the role of the Resistance’s **Chief of Military Command**. The Israeli military (IDF) celebrated this murder with grotesque arrogance, dubbing it "Black Friday" and calling al-Tabtabai the "Chief of Staff of the terrorist Hezbollah." This cynical, self-congratulatory naming convention attempts to frame the assassination as a bargain-basement purchase of a "last-season good," oblivious to the fact that such arrogance only invites a crushing response.

⚪️**Consequences and the Inevitable Reaction

****🔽**The consequences of this attack are immense and volatile, pushing the region closer to a major, destructive war:

🔢 **Provocation of War:** As analyst Sami Kleib pointed out, the strike is a direct attempt by Netanyahu to corner the Resistance. The choice is impossible: either retaliate and provide the Zionist entity with the flimsy pretext for a full-scale assault on the South, Bekaa, and Dahiyeh, or show restraint and risk appearing weakened before its allies and enemies.

🔢[ **Deterrence Failure:**](https://t.me/observer_5/228) This attack signals that Israel is tracking and targeting all new Resistance leadership. It aims to cripple the movement’s ability to rearm and reorganize. However, the defiance of the Dahiyeh’s people—who refuse to leave their shattered homes—proves this tactic is futile. The Resistance has demonstrated an infinite capacity for resilience and replacement.

🔢 **Domestic **[**Lebanese**](https://t.me/observer_5/228)** Crisis:** By choosing Independence Day (November 22) weekend, the Zionist regime aimed to humiliate the Lebanese Army, which lacks the military capacity to respond, and to undermine the Lebanese state’s sovereignty. It is a clear message that the required outcome is surrender, not a negotiated peace.

🔢 **The US Role: Consent or Complicity?** The prevailing geopolitical climate and the sheer audacity of this strike—in the heart of a capital city—strongly suggest, at minimum, that the US was **aware** and likely gave **tacit consent** for the operation. Israel does not undertake such a high-stakes, high-risk assassination without coordinating with its primary backer, especially since Tel Aviv’s declared goals align with Washington’s interest in pressuring Lebanon and "containing" the Resistance Axis. The attack serves as a clear offering of credentials to the new US administration, proving Israel's commitment to eliminating those deemed "terrorists" by both nations.

🔻[**Will Hezbollah React?**](https://t.me/observer_5/228) ** ****👍**The immediate response from Hezbollah was a proud and defiant mourning statement, framing al-Tabtabai's martyrdom as a sacrifice “for Lebanon and its people.” The statement's conscious shift in rhetoric—not explicitly citing the path to Al-Quds or support for Gaza, as noted by some observers—highlights a potential new phase. The consensus from the street and the history of the Resistance is clear: **there will be a reaction.** The Resistance does not allow the blood of its leaders, especially one of this magnitude, to go unanswered. The method and timing of the response will be calculated and strategic, chosen to maximize the impact on the Zionist occupation while navigating the high-stakes risk of full-blown war. The enemy's "Black Friday" may soon become a very long, dark week for the occupation leadership. The resilience of the Dahiyeh, as its people assert—"We are staying... with the Resistance until the Hour comes"—is the true, unbreakable strategic counter-weapon.

**🔵**[Link to the article in Arabic ](https://t.me/almuraqb/243)