Israel struck Lebanon’s capital for the first time since June, saying it killed Hezbollah’s chief of staff Haytham Tabtabai and warning the Iran-backed militant group not to rearm and rebuild a year after their latest war.

The strike on Sunday, launched almost a year after a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, threatened a wider conflict just days before Pope Leo is scheduled to visit Lebanon.

“We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel,” Israeli defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Government spokesman Shosh Bedrosian did not say whether Israel informed the US before the strike, saying only that “Israel makes decisions independently”.

The strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed five people

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