Hamas’s deputy leader outside of Gaza, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed along with at least five other people in an alleged Israeli drone strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hamas confirmed Tuesday evening.
Israel was on extra high alert not only for a potentially more extreme response by Hamas, but also from Hezbollah, The Jerusalem Post confirmed from multiple sources.
An anonymous US defense official also confirmed to the Washington Post that Israel killed al-Arouri.
The death of Arouri came at a critical moment when Israel has been trying to convince Hamas to cut another hostage release deal in exchange for a second temporary ceasefire, but to no avail.
BREAKING: Senior Hamas leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was eliminated in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh - a stronghold of Hezbollah.He had the blood of many innocent civilians on his hands.Today justice was served. Terrorists are not safe. pic.twitter.com/1BSR1xcQAc
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) January 2, 2024
Hamas may pull out of negotiations
Reportedly Hamas may pull out of negotiations for some amount of time, though the longer term goal of the attack could have been to pressure the terror group’s leaders into accepting offers they have refused in recent weeks.
Arouri was not only viewed as one of the master planners of Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel, but was also one of the main liasions for Hamas to Lebanon and to Iran.
In April 2023, Esmail Ghaani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and al-Arouri in Damascus.
Then, a Hamas delegation headed by Haniyeh went to Tehran in June, which also included Arouri, and met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian, and IRGC commander Hossein Salami.
In addition, Arouri was credited for giving the order to organize a significant terror operation in 2014 which led to the kidnapping and murder of three teenagers – a terror attack which itself eventually led to 2014 Gaza conflict.
Since then he has continued to direct significant terror attacks against Israel from the West Bank, despite long being in the Jewish state’s crosshairs.
According to reports, the strike targeted an office belonging to Hamas in Mushrifiyah in the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital.
Both an apartment and a vehicle were reportedly targeted in the area. The strike was carried out by two drones, according to Lebanese media. After the strike, Israeli fighter jets were spotted over Beirut and Khalde, along with other areas throughout Lebanon.
Azzam al-Aqra and Samir Fendi, two commanders in Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in the strike as well.
Earlier this year, the Shin Bet said that Aqra was involved in Hamas efforts to train and recruit terrorists in the West Bank.
Fendi served as a liaison between Hamas and the Houthis and al-Aqra, according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
Israel had not officially taken responsibility for the strike as of Tuesday evening, although several government officials, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, published social media posts welcoming Arouri's death.
The US-Israel Education Association stated their support of the assassination. “USIEA supports Israel’s efforts in eliminating Saleh al-Arouri and other senior leaders of Hamas in Beirut today. With Arouri and others at the helm, Hamas has committed irrevocable atrocities against Israel and the Jewish people that cannot go unpunished. This sets a huge precedent for terrorists who wish to engage in heinous acts against the Jewish state – there will be consequences for their vile actions," the statement read.
"At this point, Israel is bracing for a response from Hezbollah that could open up the northern front completely, and it should be prepared for retaliatory attacks.
"These leaders hiding out in Lebanon show how far the tentacles of Iran’s influence extend and the necessary measures to put an end to their reign of terror in the Middle East."
A few hours after the assassination, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated "The IDF is at a very high level of preparedness on all fronts. Whether on offense or defense, we're on high alert for any scenario. The most important thing to say this evening is that we are focused and have remained focused on fighting Hamas."
In response to a question about the assassination, Hagari stressed that he would not be addressing the reports, adding "We are focused on fighting Hamas."
Hezbollah MP Hussein Jishi warned after the strike that "Hezbollah will respond to the assassination, and this is settled," in comments to Al-Araby al-Jadeed.
Even before the war, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned that any Israeli assassination in Lebanese territory would "lead to a strong reaction," during an interview in August.
"It cannot be tolerated, and we will not allow Lebanon to open the arena for assassinations. We will not accept changing the rules of engagement that have existed since 2006, and the Israelis must understand this matter well," said Nasrallah at the time.
However, that was in an era before October 7, before the IDF had started to freely strike Hezbollah terrorists in around half a dozen villages across southern Lebanon and before the terror group saw the IDF flatten northern Gaza.
Palestinian factions in the West Bank declared a day of rage for Wednesday in response to the assassination.Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh expressed outrage at the assassination, stating "the occupation’s assassination of Arouri and his brothers is a complete terrorist act, a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, and an expansion of the circle of its aggression. The Nazi occupation bears responsibility for this aggression, and will not succeed in breaking the will of steadfastness and resistance among our people and their valiant resistance."
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, stated after the strike on Tuesday that "the cowardly assassinations carried out by the Zionist occupation against the leaders and symbols of our Palestinian people inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance, and they prove once again the abject failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip."
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist movement responded to the strike on Tuesday evening, stating "the assassination of Al-Arouri and his companions is an attempt by the Zionist enemy to expand the scope of the conflict and drag the entire region into the war to escape the military field failure in the Gaza Strip and the political impasse that the entity’s government is experiencing, following its failure, after 90 days of barbaric war and a war of extermination, to impose its conditions on our people. Indeed, the resistance forces had the upper hand politically and militarily."
"We affirm that this crime will not go unpunished, and that the resistance will continue until the occupation is defeated," added the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Lebanese interim prime minister Mikati expressed outrage at the strike, stating "The explosion is an Israeli crime that definitely aims to bring Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations after the ongoing daily attacks in the south."
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced that it was preparing to submit a complaint to the United Nations concerning the assassination.
The strike comes just hours before the fourth anniversary of the US assassination, with aspects of Israeli assistance, of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, in Baghdad in January 2020.