Media: Hezbollah seeks replacement for military leader

Discussions have begun in Beirut regarding the successor to Hezbollah’s commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai, who was killed by Israel, particularly given the limited number of options.

Hezbollah is reportedly considering a replacement for its military leader, Tabatabai, with Mohammad Haidar emerging as the most likely candidate, Al-Hadath reports, citing sources.

Haidar, a permanent member of Hezbollah’s military council responsible for the group’s military and security operations and subordinate to its advisory council, previously led operations in southern Lebanon during the war.

Haidar has survived several assassination attempts, the most recent during last year’s conflict. From 2005 to 2009, he served as a member of the Lebanese parliament representing Hezbollah’s bloc.

Retired Brigadier General Daoud, a military expert, told the channel that appointments to such senior positions depend on two factors: the candidate’s military rank and qualifications, and their personal attributes. “Hezbollah is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), so candidate appointments are made either directly through the IRGC or from within its own ranks,” he added.

Other potential candidates for the role include Talal Hamiyah, who commands Hezbollah’s external operations unit, and Khalil Harb, a close adviser to Nasrallah who has led operations against Israel.

Haytham Ali Tabatabai (also known as Abu Ali) was a senior Hezbollah military commander, born in Beirut in 1968 to a Lebanese mother and an Iranian-rooted father.

He rose through Hezbollah’s ranks over decades, leading its elite Radwan Force and commanding operations in Syria and Yemen.

On November 23, 2025, he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the densely populated Haret Hreik area of Beirut, which also killed four other Hezbollah fighters and wounded dozens.

Hezbollah confirmed his “martyrdom” and framed his death as a treacherous attack.

By Jeyhun Aghazada