An aerial drone strike in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut, known as a stronghold of Hezbollah, resulted in the death of Saleh al-Arouri, a high-ranking official of Hamas, on Tuesday.
The drone targeted a Hamas office, causing an explosion that claimed the lives of six individuals, as reported by the Lebanese state news agency.
Hamas has confirmed Saleh al-Arouri’s death, condemning it as a “cowardly assassination” attributed to Israel. The organization asserted that assaults against Palestinians “inside and outside Palestine” would neither break the spirit and resilience of their people nor impede the progress of their valiant resistance.
The statement from Hamas also declared, “It proves once again the abject failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip.”
In response to al-Arouri's passing, mosques in his hometown of Arura in the occupied West Bank, north of Ramallah, are in mourning, and a general strike has been called in Ramallah for Wednesday.
Here is what you need to know about the Hamas official who was killed in Lebanon.
Crowds assemble at a damaged location after an explosion, which security sources claim was caused by an Israeli drone strike, in the suburb of Dahiyeh in Beirut, Lebanon [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]
Who was Saleh al-Arouri?
Al-Arouri, aged 57, served as the deputy leader of Hamas’s political bureau and co-founded the group’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
Having spent 15 years imprisoned in Israel, al-Arouri had been residing in exile in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened his life prior to the conflict that started on October 7.
In the weeks preceding his death, al-Arouri assumed the role of Hamas spokesman, informing Al Jazeera last month that the group would not contemplate a prisoner exchange deal for captives it holds until the war in Gaza concludes.
Al-Arouri had been designated a “global terrorist” by the United States in 2015, with a $5 million bounty offered for information leading to him.
What has Israel said about al-Arouri’s death?
Israel has yet to make an official statement regarding the killing of the Hamas leader. However, Mark Regev, an adviser to Netanyahu, communicated to MSNBC that Israel does not assume responsibility for the attack, but stressed, “Whoever did it, it must be clear: this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.”
Regev went on to say, “Whoever did this executed a precise strike against the Hamas leadership.”
Danny Danon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, celebrated the strike and praised the Israeli army, Shin Bet security service, and Mossad, the nation’s intelligence agency, for the elimination of al-Arouri.
“Anyone involved in the 7/10 massacre should know that we will reach them and settle the score,” Danon stated in Hebrew, referring to a devastating October 7 Hamas operation against southern Israel, which resulted in nearly 1,200 fatalities.
Since then, Israel's continuous aerial bombardments and shellings of Gaza have killed over 22,000 Palestinians, including upwards of 8,000 children.
Following Danon’s public comments, Israeli media reported that government officials have been ordered to refrain from giving interviews about al-Arouri's death.
Palestinians engage in a demonstration over the assassination of senior Hamas figure, Saleh al-Arouri, in Ramallah, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank [Ali Sawafta/Reuters]
What has been the response from Lebanon?
Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s acting Prime Minister, denounced the assault on Beirut's suburbs and labeled it a “new Israeli crime,” also suggesting it as an effort to drag Lebanon into the conflict.
Additionally, Mikati cautioned against "Israeli political leaders' attempts to export their failures in Gaza to the southern frontier in order to establish new realities on the ground and alter the rules of engagement."
Hezbollah has voiced its stance that the assault on Lebanon's capital will not go unpunished.
