Will Hezbollah respond to Tabatabai's assasination?

A source close to Hezbollah has said there were "two opinions within the group -- those who wish to respond to the assassination of Hezbollah's top military chief in an Israeli strike on south Beirut and those who want to refrain from doing so.

The source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the leadership tends to adopt "the utmost forms of diplomacy at the present stage".

Haytham Ali Tabatabai is the most senior commander from the Iran-backed group to be killed by Israel since a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end more than a year of hostilities between the two sides.

He was killed Sunday in a raid on Haret Hreit in Beirut's southern suburb. The raid came as Israel escalated its attacks on Lebanon and Washington increased pressure on the government to disarm the group and cut off its sources of funding.

- Israel 'should be worried' -

Senior Hezbollah official Ali Damush said Monday during Tabatabai's funeral that his killing aimed to push Hezbollah into "surrendering and submitting, but this goal will never be achieved".

Israel was "worried about Hezbollah's possible response -- and should remain worried", he said, urging Lebanese authorities to "confront the aggression by all means... and reject the pressures that seek to push Lebanon to comply with American dictates and Israeli conditions".

- 'Very limited' options -

Atlantic Council researcher Nicholas Blanford told AFP that "Hezbollah's options are very limited".

"Its support base is clamoring for revenge but if Hezbollah responds directly... Israel will strike back very hard and no one in Lebanon will thank Hezbollah for that," he said.

Sunday's strike was the biggest blow to Hezbollah since the ceasefire "because of (Tabatabai's) seniority... it demonstrates the Israelis can still locate and target senior officials despite whatever protective measures Hezbollah is undertaking" since the war, Blanford added.

- Iran Guards urge 'revenge' -

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called Monday for "revenge" for the killing of Tabatabai.

"The right of the Axis of Resistance and Lebanese Hezbollah to avenge the blood of the brave fighters of Islam is unquestionable," the IRGC, Hezbollah's main military and financial backer, said in a statement.