In a targeted drone attack on a Hamas office in Beirut, Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of Hamas, was killed along with five others. The strike occurred in the southern suburb of Daliyeh, escalating tensions beyond the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but Mark Regev, an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister, emphasized that it was a precise operation against the Hamas leadership.
The drone strike, which occurred on Tuesday, was confirmed by both Hamas’ Al Aqsa Radio and Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Mayadeen TV, citing security sources. Al-Arouri, a prominent member of the Palestinian Islamist movement’s politburo operating abroad, was also a co-founder of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
The targeted attack underlines the potential expansion of the Israel-Hamas conflict, as evidenced by the lethal consequences beyond Gaza’s borders.
Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah, a key ally of Hamas, has been engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire with Israel along Lebanon’s southern border since the initiation of the Gaza war in early October.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the drone blast, denouncing it as a “new Israeli crime” and an apparent effort to embroil Lebanon in the escalating conflict.
Despite the severity of the incident, the Israeli military has not officially acknowledged responsibility for the attack. Mark Regev, an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister, clarified in an interview with MSNBC TV that while Israel had not claimed the attack, it was a precision strike specifically targeting the Hamas leadership.
The tension in the region had been exacerbated by Israel’s previous accusations against Arouri, blaming him for supervising and ordering Hamas attacks in the Israel-occupied West Bank during the devastating air and ground offensive in Gaza.
Arouri, in an ominous statement made in August 2023, had acknowledged the threat to his life, saying, “I am waiting for martyrdom.”
As the region braces for potential retaliation, Imad Harb, director of research at the Arab Center Washington DC, predicts increased attacks by Hezbollah on Israel but believes both sides will exercise caution to avoid a full-scale war.
The killing of Saleh al-Arouri marks a critical juncture in the ongoing conflict, raising concerns about the trajectory of hostilities in the volatile Middle East.
