EXPLANER
The assassination of the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau could trigger retaliation from Hamas and Hezbollah.
A drone strike in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, killed a senior Hamas official, Saleh al-Arouri, on Tuesday.
The drone struck a Hamas office, killing six people, the official Lebanese news agency reported.
Hamas confirmed al-Arouri’s death and called it a “cowardly assassination” carried out by Israel, adding that attacks on Palestinians “inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in break the will and firmness of our people, nor undermine the continuation of their valiant resistance. “.
“This proves once again the abject failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive objectives in the Gaza Strip,” the group said.
Following the news of al-Arouri’s death, mosques in Arura, the occupied West Bank city north of Ramallah, are mourning his death and a general strike was called in Ramallah on Wednesday.
Here’s what you need to know about the Hamas official killed in Lebanon.
Who was Saleh al-Arouri?
Al-Arouri, 57, was the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau and one of the founders of the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.
He lived in exile in Lebanon after spending 15 years in an Israeli prison. Before the war began on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to kill him.
In recent weeks, al-Arouri has taken on the role of spokesperson for the group and told Tel Aviv Tribune last month that Hamas would not discuss an exchange deal for the captives the group holds before the end of the war in Gaza.
The United States labeled al-Arouri a “global terrorist” in 2015 and issued a $5 million reward for information about him.
What did Israel say about al-Arouri’s death?
Although there has been no official response from Israel regarding the Hamas official’s death, Netanyahu adviser Mark Regev told US media outlet MSNBC that Israel does not take responsibility for the death. attack. But, he added, “whoever did it must be clear: this was not an attack on the Lebanese state. »
“Whoever did this launched a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership,” he said.
However, Danny Danon, a former Israeli envoy to the United Nations, welcomed the attack and praised the Israeli military, Shin Bet, security services and Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, for killing al- Arouri.
“Everyone who was involved in the September 10 massacre should know that we will contact them and close an account with them,” he said on X in Hebrew, referring to the October 7 Hamas attack against southern Israel which killed nearly 1,200 people. .
Since then, Israel’s relentless bombing and artillery fire on Gaza has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, including more than 8,000 children.
According to Israeli media, the government ordered ministers not to give any interviews about al-Arouri’s death after Danon’s tweet.
What was Lebanon’s response?
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack on the Beruit suburb and said it was a “new Israeli crime” as well as an attempt to drag Lebanon into the war.
Mikati also warned against “the Israeli political elite resorting to exporting its failures in Gaza to the southern border to impose new facts on the ground and change the rules of engagement.”
Hezbollah said the attack on the Lebanese capital “will not take place without punishment.”
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