Hamas blames Israel for ‘cowardly assassination’ of deputy leader Saleh al Arouri | World News

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Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, earlier vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in the country.

By Tom Gillespie, News reporter @TomGillespie1


Hamas has said one of its top officials, Saleh al Arouri, has been killed in an explosion in Beirut – blaming the “cowardly assassination” on Israel.

Al Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas’s military wing and the deputy leader of the group’s political bureau. He also headed Hamas’s presence in the West Bank.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the blast killed four people and was carried out by an Israeli drone. Three security sources told Reuters the strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh.

Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, has said al Arouri was killed in a “cowardly assassination” by Israel, adding such attacks “will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance”.

He added: “It proves once again the abject failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip.”

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, earlier vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in the country.

Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the “martyr’s blood will undoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and motivation to fight” against Israel.

Mr Kanaani also condemned the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.



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Saleh al Arouri was deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas



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The aftermath of the blast at the building where al Arouri was killed. Pic: AP

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill al Arouri even before the Hamas-Israel war began on 7 October 2023.

Hamas official Bassem Naim has confirmed al Arouri was killed in the blast. A Hezbollah official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations also said al Arouri was killed.

Israeli officials declined to comment.

An explosion shook the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs on Tuesday evening causing chaos in Hezbollah’s stronghold, but the nature of the blast was not immediately known.

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This assassination suggests Israel is keeping its word

An Israeli drone strike, in Hezbollah-controlled southern Beirut, is a potentially major escalation.

The target was Saleh al Arouri, a senior Hamas commander in Lebanon and de-facto leader of the group in the West Bank.

As rocket fire from Gaza has decreased notably in recent weeks, the Israel-Lebanon border has grown in tension, with regular daily exchanges of artillery and missile strikes.

It’s likely Israel won’t formally admit to this assassination, but the government has made it clear they will go after Hamas leaders wherever they are in the world. This would seem to be evidence that they are keeping that vow.

Hezbollah, who thus far have seemed unwilling to enter into a full-scale war with Israel, instead limiting fighting to the border areas, will need to decide how to respond.

With Israeli border villages evacuated, a US aircraft carrier close by, and hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists already called up, some in Israel have called for the military to take this opportunity to push back Hezbollah once and for all. Netanyahu has so far resisted.

On the face of it, this is an attack on Hamas, not Hezbollah, but it was in the capital Beirut and has eliminated a figure said to be very close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah – they have reportedly met on a number of occasions since 7 October.

Nasrallah, who was already due to speak publicly tomorrow, surely cannot turn a blind eye to this attack.

It was not clear if the explosion inflicted any casualties in the Beirut suburb but videos circulating on social media showed serious damage and fire.

The explosion came during more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and members of Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border.

Since the fighting began it has been concentrated a few miles from the border but on several occasions Israel’s air force hit Hezbollah targets deeper in Lebanon.

Earlier in the day, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out several attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border targeting Israeli military posts.

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