On May 28, at approximately 2 pm, the Israeli Air Force targeted an apartment on the second floor of the Rayyan Project building, near Shuwayfat’s Ajniha Al Khamsa area, just southeast of Beirut. It was the first Israeli strike in the broader Beirut area in just over three weeks.
The Lebanese Health Ministry claimed that three people—a woman, her infant daughter, and a Syrian child—were killed, and 15 people were wounded. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) almost immediately acknowledged that it had conducted a “precise strike in Beirut,” and promised further information.
Strike target: Ali al Hussaini
The IDF has yet to officially announce the target or the result of the strikes. However, media reports, quoting unnamed Israeli security sources, claimed that the target was Ali al Hussaini, saying he headed the missile array force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Forces’ (IRGC-QF) Imam Hossein Division. The reports also stressed his fate remained unclear. Hezbollah and Iranian sources have likewise remained silent on Hussaini’s fate.
There is no information on Hussaini from prior to the strike. Israeli analysts assessed him as a relatively low-ranking figure, a functional missile specialist or commander operating in the IRGC-controlled outfit that had previously fought alongside former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and is now supporting Hezbollah.
Chronology of Israel’s campaign against Imam Hossein Division operatives in Lebanon
Israel has targeted several Imam Hossein Division operatives in Lebanon since the onset of hostilities with Hezbollah on October 8, 2023.
- March 2, 2024: Israel targeted a vehicle near Naqoura in the South Governorate’s Tyre District, which it claimed was carrying unnamed “terrorists operating under the Imam Hossein Division” who had overseen rocket fire directed at Israel.
- October 1, 2024: Israel targeted and claimed to have killed Al Faqar Hanawi, the Imam Hossein Division’s commander in Beirut.
- September 11, 2025: Israel targeted a vehicle on the Ain Baal–Bazouriyeh road in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Tyre District. Hezbollah-affiliated social media accounts announced the death of Hezbollah operative Wassim Said Jibaai, whose nom de guerre was Al Hajj Mahdi, from Aitit. At 7:47 pm, the IDF released a statement claiming responsibility for assassinating Jibaai, describing him as a dual operative in Hezbollah and the 14thImam Hussain Division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IDF noted that Jibaai “was a central figure in the force-buildup efforts and strengthening of the division, advanced weapons procurement deals,” and “assisted in launching missile and rocket attacks against the State of Israel during operation ‘Northern Arrows.’”
- March 12, 2026: Israel claimed to have targeted and killed Ali Muslim Tabaja in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The IDF said Tabaja had succeeded Dhulfiqar Hanawi as commander of the Imam Hossein division and claimed he “joined the Hezbollah terrorist organization and, over the years, held a series of military roles both within Hezbollah and within the division, including serving as the deputy commander of the division.” The IDF additionally claimed Tabaja “was involved in the process of rebuilding the Hezbollah terrorist organization and maintained …contact with senior members of the axis and Iranian officials.” Hezbollah-affiliated social media later acknowledged the death of operative Ali Muslim Tabaja, whose nom de guerre was Abu Ridha, from Deir Qanoun Al Nahr.
- March 12, 2026: Israel claimed to have killed Jihad Al Safira, the Imam Hossein Division’s deputy commander, in the same strike targeting Tabaja. The Israelis also claimed to have killed Sajid Al Handasa, whom they identified as the division’s UAV officer, in the same operation.
- March 18, 2026: The IDF claimed to have killed Hassan Ali Marwan, Tabaja’s successor, near Beirut. The IDF said he coordinated with Hezbollah military officials and the IRGC-QF, oversaw missile/UAV/rocket launches, and managed the deployment of division operatives in south Lebanon.
- April 6, 2026: The IDF said it killed Kamil Melhem, the Imam Hossein Division’s head of artillery, along with other operatives, including aides to division commander Yahya Hussein. The Israeli military said that Melhem oversaw artillery launches, weapons procurement, and the division commander’s chief of staff’s office.
The IRGC-QF Imam Hossein Division
The Imam Hossein Division supports Hezbollah while answering directly to Iran’s IRGC-QF. The unit’s origins are generally traced back to 2016 in Syria, where it was founded by then-IRGC-QF commander Qassem Soleimani. The Imam Hossein Division functioned as one of Iran’s main operational arms in Syria, developed by the IRGC-QF to support the Assad regime, as well as Iranian and Hezbollah objectives in and around Syria.
Contemporaneous reporting described the Division as then being mostly comprised of Syrians, but with fighters from Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Reports claimed it had “thousands” of personnel with combat, special forces, HQ/logistics, drone warfare, rocket warfare, and precision-guided munition components. Some analysts claimed that the Imam Hossein Division was embedded in Syria’s military structure by the Syrian regime’s 4th Armored Division, and that Hezbollah played a pivotal role in establishing the force and training its personnel.
During the Syrian Conflict, Imam Hossein Division forces were deployed throughout Syria, including in the Golan Heights and other areas opposite Israel after 2018, from where they attempted to conduct multiple rocket and drone attacks. Reports have attributed several attacks against Israel to the division from that period. These operations include a January 2019 surface-to-surface missile attack, a June 2019 rocket attack, and an attempted drone attack in August 2019. The same report claimed that the division was behind the October 2021 drone and rocket barrage on the US garrison in Al Tanf in southeastern Syria. Based on Israeli post-strike claims, it appears that much of Imam Hossein Division’s manpower was redeployed to reinforce Hezbollah after the onset of the October 7 War in 2023, including to Lebanon.
David Daoud is Senior Fellow at at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where he focuses on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon affairs.
Tags: Hezbollah, IDF, Imam Hossein Division, IRGC-QF, Israel, Israel-Hezbollah, Lebanon
