The killing was designed to frighten and weaken Hezbollah into surrender
En las calles del sur de Beirut, cientos de personas despidieron al comandante militar más alto de Hezbollah caído desde el alto al fuego de noviembre de 2024, un hombre cuya muerte revela cuán frágil es la paz cuando las armas siguen hablando más alto que los acuerdos. El asesinato de Haitham Ali Tabatabai por un ataque aéreo israelí no es solo la pérdida de un individuo, sino una señal de que las treguas formales rara vez detienen las lógicas más profundas de la guerra. En el espacio entre el cese del fuego firmado y la realidad sobre el terreno, el Líbano sigue atrapado entre fuerzas que lo superan, mientras se acerca una fecha límite que nadie parece dispuesto a cumplir.
- Israel eliminó al jefe del estado mayor de Hezbollah en un ataque sobre el sur de Beirut, el cargo más alto abatido desde que entró en vigor el alto al fuego hace un año.
- Cientos de seguidores salieron a las calles con banderas amarillas y retratos de líderes, convirtiendo el funeral en una demostración de desafío colectivo frente a Israel y Estados Unidos.
- Hezbollah rechaza de plano la exigencia de desarmarse al sur del río Litani, mientras el ejército libanés enfrenta una fecha límite de fin de año para desmantelar infraestructura militar que el grupo se niega a entregar.
- Israel justifica sus bombardeos continuos como verificación del cumplimiento del cese del fuego, pero Hezbollah los interpreta como prueba de que rendirse equivaldría a quedar indefenso.
- Un comandante de Hezbollah advirtió en el funeral que la estrategia de 'asustar y debilitar' al grupo está condenada al fracaso, mientras el gobierno libanés queda atrapado entre presiones cruzadas que amenazan con desbordarlo.
El domingo, cientos de dolientes recorrieron las calles del sur de Beirut para despedir a Haitham Ali Tabatabai, el comandante militar de más alto rango de Hezbollah asesinado desde que se firmó el alto al fuego en noviembre de 2024. Los féretros, envueltos en la bandera amarilla de la organización, fueron cargados por militantes uniformados mientras la multitud agitaba retratos de líderes del grupo y del líder supremo iraní, Alí Jamenei, entre consignas contra Israel y Estados Unidos.
Su muerte marca una escalada significativa. El ejército israelí lo describió como el jefe del estado mayor de Hezbollah y afirmó haberlo "eliminado", mientras el grupo confirmó que había asumido el mando tras la reciente guerra, en la que la organización sufrió pérdidas severas entre su cúpula. Desde entonces, Hezbollah ha trabajado para reconstruir sus capacidades.
El acuerdo de cese al fuego exigía que Hezbollah retirara sus fuerzas al norte del río Litani y desmantelara su infraestructura militar en el sur. El gobierno libanés aprobó un plan para que el ejército nacional completara ese proceso antes de que termine el año, pero Hezbollah lo rechaza categóricamente, considerándolo una violación de su autonomía.
Israel, por su parte, ha continuado sus bombardeos sobre territorio libanés, argumentando que son necesarios para verificar el cumplimiento del desarme. En el funeral, el comandante Ali Damush insistió en que matar a Tabatabai no logrará que el grupo "se rinda ni se someta", y llamó a las autoridades libanesas a resistir las presiones de Washington y Jerusalén.
El asesinato expone la fragilidad de una tregua que existe más en el papel que en los hechos, y coloca al gobierno libanés ante una encrucijada imposible: cumplir con un plazo que una de las partes rechaza, mientras la otra sigue bombardeando como si el acuerdo no existiera.
Hundreds of mourners gathered in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday to bury Haitham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah's top military commander, killed in an Israeli airstrike. The funeral procession moved through the streets with coffins draped in the organization's yellow flag, carried by uniformed militants who chanted religious verses. The crowd waved Hezbollah banners, held portraits of the group's leaders and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and shouted slogans against Israel and the United States.
Tabatabai's death marks a significant escalation. He was the highest-ranking Hezbollah military official to be killed since a ceasefire took effect in November 2024, an agreement meant to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group. His assassination comes as Israel has intensified its bombing campaign across Lebanon, claiming its targets are Hezbollah members and military infrastructure designed to prevent the organization from rearming.
The Israeli military said it had "eliminated" Tabatabai, describing him as the chief of Hezbollah's general staff. Hezbollah confirmed he had assumed the role of military commander following the recent war with Israel, during which the group suffered heavy losses, including the deaths of several senior leaders. The organization has been rebuilding its capabilities since those defeats.
The ceasefire agreement stipulated that Hezbollah withdraw its forces north of the Litani River, roughly 30 kilometers from the Israeli border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in the southern zone. Under a plan approved by the Lebanese government, the Lebanese army is supposed to take over the dismantling of Hezbollah's military installations south of the river before the year ends. Hezbollah has firmly rejected this requirement, viewing it as an infringement on its autonomy.
Despite the truce, Israeli airstrikes have continued regularly. The government in Jerusalem justifies these operations as necessary to verify that Hezbollah is complying with disarmament terms and to prevent the group from reconstituting its military capacity. Meanwhile, the United States has been pressuring Lebanon's government to enforce the ceasefire terms and push Hezbollah toward full disarmament.
At the funeral, Ali Damush, a senior Hezbollah commander, declared that Tabatabai's killing was designed to "frighten and weaken" the organization in hopes it would "surrender and submit." He insisted the strategy would fail. Damush also called on Lebanese authorities to "reject the pressures" and resist what he characterized as "dictates" from the United States and Israel. His words reflected Hezbollah's defiant stance even as it mourns the loss of one of its most senior military figures.
The killing underscores the fragility of the ceasefire and the competing visions for Lebanon's future. Israel sees continued military operations as essential to its security; Hezbollah views them as violations of the agreement and proof that disarmament would leave it defenseless. The Lebanese government, caught between these forces, faces mounting pressure from both sides as the year-end deadline for the disarmament plan approaches.
Citas Notables
The killing seeks to frighten and weaken Hezbollah so it will surrender and submit, but this will not succeed.— Ali Damush, senior Hezbollah commander, at Tabatabai's funeral
Lebanese authorities must reject pressures and resist the dictates of the United States and Israel.— Ali Damush, senior Hezbollah commander
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does the death of one commander matter so much? Hezbollah has lost leaders before.
Because this is the first major killing since the ceasefire. It signals that the agreement isn't holding—that Israel is still conducting major operations against Hezbollah's command structure.
But Israel says it's just enforcing the ceasefire terms, preventing rearming.
That's the argument, yes. But from Hezbollah's perspective, the ceasefire was supposed to stop the killing. Each airstrike feels like proof that disarming would be suicide.
So Hezbollah won't disarm?
They've made that clear. They see the disarmament clause as a demand to surrender their only leverage. Without military capacity, they lose their seat at the table.
What does the Lebanese government want?
They're trapped. They agreed to the ceasefire and the disarmament plan, but they can't enforce it against Hezbollah. And now Israel keeps bombing anyway, which makes the government look powerless.
Is this ceasefire already broken?
Technically it's still in place, but it's being tested constantly. Every Israeli strike, every Hezbollah refusal to disarm—it's all fraying the edges. The real question is whether it holds until the end of the year.