A drone strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, killed senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri on Tuesday.
The drone hit a Hamas workplace, leaving six individuals useless, Lebanon’s state information company reported.
Hamas confirmed the loss of life of al-Arouri and referred to as it a “cowardly assassination” by Israel, including that assaults on Palestinians “inside and out of doors Palestine won’t reach breaking the desire and steadfastness of our individuals, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance”.
“It proves as soon as once more the abject failure of this enemy to realize any of its aggressive targets within the Gaza Strip,” the group stated.
Following the information of the loss of life of al-Arouri, mosques in Arura, the occupied West Financial institution city of north Ramallah, are mourning his loss of life and a common strike has been referred to as in Ramallah for Wednesday.
Here’s what to know in regards to the Hamas official killed in Lebanon.
Who was Saleh al-Arouri?
Al-Arouri, 57, was the deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau and one of many founders of the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.
He had been residing in exile in Lebanon after spending 15 years in an Israeli jail. Earlier than the struggle started on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him.
In current weeks, al-Arouri took on the function of spokesperson for the group and instructed Al Jazeera final month that Hamas wouldn’t talk about an trade deal for the captives the group is holding earlier than the struggle ends in Gaza.
The US labelled al-Arouri as a “world terrorist” in 2015 and issued a $5m reward for any info on him.
What has Israel stated about al-Arouri’s loss of life?
Whereas there was no official response from Israel in regards to the loss of life of the Hamas official, Mark Regev, an adviser to Netanyahu, instructed the US outlet MSNBC that Israel doesn’t take accountability for this assault. However, added, “Whoever did it, it should be clear: this was not an assault on the Lebanese state.”
“Whoever did this did a surgical strike in opposition to the Hamas management,” he stated.
Nonetheless, Danny Danon, a former Israeli envoy to the United Nations, hailed the assault and congratulated the Israeli military, Shin Wager, the safety service and Mossad, Israel’s intelligence company, for killing al-Arouri.
“Anybody who was concerned within the 7/10 bloodbath ought to know that we are going to attain out to them and shut an account with them,” he stated on X in Hebrew, referring to the October 7 Hamas assault on southern Israel that killed practically 1,200 individuals.
Israel’s relentless bombing and artillery shelling of Gaza since then has killed greater than 22,000 Palestinians, together with greater than 8,000 youngsters.
In line with Israeli media, the federal government has ordered cupboard ministers to not give any interviews about al-Arouri’s loss of life after Danon’s tweet.
![Palestinians take part in a protest against the killing of senior Hamas official](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-02T181725Z_1842731275_RC2T95AO77MZ_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-AROURI-WEST-BANK-REACTIONS-1704219733.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C578)
What has been the response from Lebanon?
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the assault on the Beruit suburb and stated it was a “new Israeli crime” in addition to an try to tug Lebanon into the struggle.
Mikati additionally warned in opposition to the “Israeli political higher echelon resorting to exporting its failures in Gaza to the southern border to impose new information on the bottom and alter the foundations of engagement”.
Hezbollah stated that the assault on Lebanon’s capital “won’t move with out punishment”.