Hundreds of men beat their chests in unison. They sing with their hearts in their mouths. They sing and cry. They cry with their faces uncovered. This Monday the streets of the southern suburbs of Beirut They have been filled with tears, songs and laments. The funeral for number two Hezbollah, Hayung A third.has been the catalyst for all of them. “We are sad, because we have lost a treasure,” acknowledges one of those attending the leader’s funeral along with two other fighters from the Lebanese Shiite group. The previous afternoon several missiles killed them, and two other people, while they were in an apartment in the heart of the Beirutian suburbs.
In profile, you can perceive the impact precision. Six projectiles pierced the building, volatilizing its fourth and fifth floors. Civil defense teams still throw remains of concrete and iron into the street, where life goes on. Even the commercial premises in the same block remain open. Meanwhile, a question sneaks through the gray dust that still dominates the atmosphere:Hezbollah will respond to the umpteenth Israeli aggression? “That depends on them, we trust that they will know how to make the best possible decision,” he says. Onlya young saleswoman in a clothing store next to the attacked building.
“We will continue to open, and we will continue living our lifewhich is what bothers the enemy the most,” he told EL PERIÓDICO along with his partner Marwa. No need to say his name. In any corner of the southern suburbs of Beirut, everyone knows that when the enemy is mentioned, they can only refer to Israel. This Sunday’s attack, which killed five people and injured 28 moreis the latest in the capital since last July, and was the third attempt to kill Tabatabai since the two-month war that Israel imposed on Lebanon last fall.
A Hezbollah sympathizer shows a portrait of the group’s number two, Haytham Tabatabai, assassinated this Sunday by Israel. / Poor hamzeh / he
According to the Israeli military, Tabatabai was appointed to lead Hezbollah operations against Israel and served as its military chief after last November. He also claims that he joined the group in the 1980s and held various high-level positions, including commanding the elite Radwan Force unit and overseeing Hezbollah operations in Syria. In 2016, the United States Department of State designated him as global terroristestablishing a reward of five million dollars. The Israeli prime minister’s office claims that Tabatabai “led military development and the rearmament of the organization“, an accusation that the Israeli authorities have been repeating for weeks.
More than 340 dead
In the last month, Israeli violence against Lebanon has increased daily. Last week the deadliest attack took place in the Palestinian refugee camp of An el Heluewhich killed 13 people. The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Eyal Zamirhas said his troops could face new combats in areas in which they had previously operated, while this Monday a surprise drill was prepared to prepare the troops for sudden events on the border between both countries. “We are not afraid, we are calm and relaxed“says Nur, with a surprising calm.
“Nothing that can happen is in our hands, so, “Why be afraid?”Marwa wonders from behind the counter. Since the start of the truce on November 27, 2024, Israel has carried out daily attacks against Lebanon, while Hezbollah has only launched projectiles in an occasion at the beginning of the ceasefire. More than 340 people have died in Lebanon this year. “All our youth is gone, our young people have been taken from us,” he laments Fatnat Ali Hashem, an elderly Beirutian woman. “It is very important that we continue here, because, if not, we would not have our homes, and we are willing to sacrifice for them; it is our land,” he says, through tears, to this newspaper.
Hezbollah fighters attend the funeral for their number two. / HUSSEIN MALLA / AP
“Death to America! Death to Israel!”
During Tabatabai’s funeral, dozens of young people dressed in military and of scouts They held back their tears as they buried the umpteenth Hezbollah officer killed by Israel. They know that this may be their destiny soon. Military and religious leaderslike the sheikh Ali Daamoushthe president of the group’s Executive Council, have made speeches that have put an end to the traditional slogans of “Death to America! Death to Israel!” Now, Hezbollah is considering responding to the attack, but his supporters do not ask him to.
“They know what the military situation to be able to attack back or not,” insists Marwa, from her counter on a street beaten but not beaten down. Dahiyethe term they refer to the southern suburbs of Beirut, because in Arabic it literally means suburbs. “But what everyone can see is that are they [Israel] who attack uswhile the resistance [Hizbulá] does not act,” he concludes.
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