Palestine: Senior Hamas official Mr. Saleh al-Arouri was reportedly killed in a drone attack in Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
According to Lebanon’s official news agency, six people were killed when a drone struck a Hamas office.
Although its enemies threatened to exact “punishment” for the assassination of a Hamas leader, Israel has maintained that the incident was not an attack on Lebanon.
Hamas confirmed that attacks on Palestinians “inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance,” confirming the death of al-Arouri and denouncing it as a “cowardly assassination” by Israel.
Israel has not acknowledged or denied killing Mr. Saleh al-Arouri. However, a spokesman referred to the incident as a “surgical strike against the Hamas leadership.”
According to Lebanon’s PM, Israel is attempting to “drag” the country into a regional conflict.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that its soldiers were “highly prepared for any scenario” but declined to comment on the killing of Saleh al-Arouri.
“The IDF is in a very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defence and offence. The most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas,” spokesman Mr. Rear Adm Daniel Hagari briefed.
Since Israel and Hamas went to war following the group’s attack on October 7, Mr. Arouri, 57, is the most senior Hamas figure to be killed.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, over 22,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children, have died as a result of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip.
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