Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation following the IDF's killing of Hezbollah's second-in-command and military commander Haytham Ali Tabtabai on Sunday afternoon.
“It is no coincidence that the US offered a financial reward for Tabatabai, who served as a senior commander in the Radwan force that planned to invade the Galilee," he said.
"Tabatabai is a mass murderer. His hands are soaked in the blood of many Israelis and Americans, and it is not for nothing that the US put a bounty of five million dollars on his head."
"The State of Israel will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its power. I expect the Lebanese government to act and meet its commitments.”
Netanyahu added that disarming Hezbollah was "only in this way can a better future be made possible for every citizen in Lebanon, and only in this way can good and secure neighborly relations be established between Israel and Lebanon."
Who was Hezbollah military chief Tabatabai?
Hezbollah has not commented on Tabatabai's fate, although Lebanese security sources confirmed he was the target of Israel's strike.
During last year's war, Tabtabai led Hezbollah's operations division and rose in rank as other top commanders were eliminated, the IDF's statement said.
Once the ceasefire came into force, Tabtabai was appointed chief of staff and "worked extensively to restore their readiness for war with Israel," according to the statement.
The Lebanese security source confirmed Tabtabai was swiftly promoted as other top Hezbollah officials were killed, and had been appointed chief of staff over the last year.
Netanyahu thanks Trump for plans to proscribe Muslim Brotherhood
In his speech, Netanyahu also thanked US President Donald Trump for his reported plans to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group.
“I commend President Trump for outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood. This is an organization that endangers stability in the Middle East and beyond. That is why the State of Israel has outlawed parts of the organization and will continue to do so," he said.