1 of 2 | Smoke billows from the site of an explosion near Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday from an Israeli drone strike that killed a Hamas senior leader, Saleh al Arouri, and others. Photo by Abbas Salman/EPA-EFE
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A senior Hamas leader and two companions were killed Tuesday in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut's southern suburb, the stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to the militant Palestinian group.
Saleh al-Arouri, 58, who served as Hamas' deputy politburo leader and its military commander of the West Bank, died in the attack. He was a founding commander of Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' Armed Wing, and has been living in Lebanon since 2018.
He was imprisoned twice in Israeli jails for a total of 18 years before being released in 2010. He was known to be the coordinator between Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli strike targeted an apartment in the Musharafiyeh neighborhood in the southern suburbs, killing al-Arouri and two commanders of al-Qassam Brigades. Three others were also killed and 11 wounded. The attack caused considerable damage and set ablaze several cars, according to security sources and Hezbollah-run Al Manar TV.
Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, confirmed al-Arouri's "cowardly assassination" in the Israeli strike, saying it "will not undermine the continuation of the brave resistance" and "will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness" of the Palestinian people.
Al-Rishq said the assassination "proves once again the failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip," where 22,185 people have been killed and 57,035 injured in Israel's relentless bombardment since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Tuesday's attack came amid growing fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been battling along the Lebanese-Israeli border since the Gaza war broke out. The daily fighting, although restricted to parts of southern Lebanon and northern Israel, has resulted in numerous deaths, destruction and displacement on both sides.
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Tuesday's strike is "a new Israeli crime" that aims at "dragging Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations" and imposing "new rules of engagement."
Mikati described al-Arouri's assassination as "a clear response" to Lebanon's efforts to "keep away the specter of the ongoing Gaza war."
"It has become clear to everyone ... that the decision to go to war is in the hands of Israel, and what is required is to deter it and stop its aggression," he said in a statement.
Hezbollah chief Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, who has warned Israel against resuming its assassination plots on Lebanese soil, is set to deliver a speech Wednesday in which he is expected to define his group's position and possible retaliation to al-Arouri's assassination.
