The Islamic Resistance has released the biography of its late senior military commander, Haitham Ali al-Tabatabai, callsign Sayyed Abu Ali, who was martyred on Sunday following an Israeli air aggression in the Southern Suburb of Beirut. The operation also claimed the lives of several of his companions.

Born on November 5, 1968, in the al-Bashoura area in Beirut, Sayyed Abu Ali joined the Islamic Resistance from its inception. Over the decades, he became a foundational figure within the movement, undertaking extensive military and leadership training and rising through the ranks to assume some of its most critical responsibilities, according to his biography that was released by the Resistance's military media.

A legacy forged on the battlefield

Sayyed Abu Ali participated in numerous pivotal operations, especially elite missions targeting Israeli occupation forces and their collaborators prior to the liberation of South Lebanon in 2000. He played a key field role in repelling Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the 1993 and 1996 wars.

From 1996 to 2000, he led the Nabatieh Axis, where he was among the commanders of the operation to capture enemy forces in Berkat al-Naqar, located in the occupied Shebaa Farms.

Post liberation in 2000 and up until 2008, he assumed command of the Khiam Axis, where he played a decisive role during the confrontations in the July 2006 aggression, directing several of the Resistance’s most strategic operations on that front.

After the martyrdom of Commander Hajj Imad Mughniyeh, Sayyed Abu Ali was appointed head of the Resistance’s intervention forces and played a pivotal role in the establishment and development of the elite Radwan Force.

He was also entrusted with high-level leadership duties across the various fronts of the Resistance axis, according to the Resistance's statement.

In 2023, he led operational command within the Islamic Resistance during the Battle of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The following year, during the Battle of People of Might in 2024, he oversaw and directed Resistance operations.

Following the Battle of People of Might, he assumed full military leadership of the Islamic Resistance.

Hezbollah announces the martyrdom of commander Haitham al-Tabatabai

Hezbollah has announced the martyrdom of senior military commander Haitham Ali al-Tabatabai, also known as Sayyed Abu Ali, who was martyred in an Israeli airstrike on Harat Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

On Sunday afternoon, an Israeli airstrike targeted the fourth and fifth stories of a residential civilian building on al-Areed street in Haret Hreik. Per the Lebanese Ministry of Health, five were martyred and 28 were wounded in the attack.

In an official statement, the resistance mourned the loss of a great military commander, praising al-Tabatabai’s lifelong dedication to the Resistance in Lebanon and his role in confronting the Israeli occupation.

The statement added that al-Tabatabai joined his fellow martyred brethren after a long wait to meet God Almighty, following a path marked by "jihad, sincerity, and steadfastness."

He was recognized as one of the founding leaders of Hezbollah’s military structure and played a pivotal role in its early formation and subsequent growth.

"He never tired or faltered in defending his land and people," the statement read. "Since the inception of the Resistance, he laid the groundwork for a movement that remains strong, dignified, and capable of protecting the homeland and achieving victories."

Hezbollah emphasized that the martyrdom of al-Tabatabai would further energize resistance fighters and reinforce their determination to continue resisting the Israeli enemy and its backer, the United States. The group vowed to carry forward his legacy and that of all martyred commanders.