Israeli drone strike kills Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri

An Israeli drone strike killed Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of the group’s political bureau, in the Hezbollah stronghold of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday night.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli strike killed at least three people and wounded several others in the strike against an office used by Hamas.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. But an Israeli lawmaker and its former ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, congratulated the Mossad, Shin Bet and Israeli army for the operation. “Anyone who was involved in the 7/10 massacre should know that we will reach out to them and close an account with them,” he said in a post in Hebrew on X.

Hamas later confirmed that two officials from al-Qassam Brigades who were with al-Arouri were also killed.

Israel has not officially commented on the incident, but an Israeli lawmaker and former ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, congratulated the Israeli military and security agencies for “killing senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut.”

“Anyone who was involved in the [October 7] massacre should know that we will reach out to them and close an account with them,” he wrote in a post in Hebrew on the social media platform X.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the “new Israeli crime” that he said aimed to bring Beirut into a new phase of confrontation. “It has become clear to everyone near and far that the decision to go to war is in the hands of Israel, and what is needed is to deter this and stop [Israel’s] aggression,” he said in a post on X.

Lebanon also said it would file a complaint over the attack to the United Nations.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border exchanges since October. Tuesday’s strike was the deepest Israeli attack on Lebanese soil since the recent round of fighting erupted.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was previously scheduled to speak on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the killing of the head of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.

In a previous televised appearance, Nasrallah warned that the targeting of any Lebanese or foreigners inside Lebanon would draw a “strong reaction” and that it would not be tolerated.

The top US diplomat was due in Tel Aviv this week as part of a multi-nation tour across the Middle East. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip would be changed after the latest events. US officials said Israel did not inform the United States ahead of its operation to take out the Hamas official.

The US had a $5 million bounty on Saleh al-Arouri and designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2015.

Washington has been exerting significant diplomatic efforts to prevent the fighting in Gaza from spreading to the region, specifically into Lebanon.

Who was al-Arouri?

Al-Arouri served as a senior official in Hamas’ politburo and played a key role in the group’s military activities. A founding member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, al-Arouri was born in 1966 in the West Bank town of Aroura.

He became a member of Hamas’ politburo in 2010 and assumed the position of deputy chairman in October 2017. Despite being based in Lebanon, al-Arouri was considered Hamas’ leader in the West Bank.

In this photo released by the Hamas Media Office, Ismail Haniyeh, right, the head of the Hamas political bureau, shakes hands with his deputy Saleh al-Arouri upon his arrival in Gaza from Cairo, Egypt, in Gaza City, August 2, 2018.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill al-Arouri even before the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7. The US had a $5 million bounty on al-Arouri and designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2015.

Al-Arouri led Hamas’ delegation during reconciliation talks with the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He also facilitated the negotiations for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011, securing the freedom of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Hamas’ Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar.

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, right, meets with the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, center, and his deputy Saleh al-Arouri in Tehran, Iran, June 21, 2023.

In 2017, al-Arouri headed a Hamas delegation to Iran, meeting with Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s top security official at the time. The same year, al-Arouri publicly met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, marking the restoration of relations between the Palestinian group and Iran and Hezbollah, following disagreements over the Syrian civil war.

Having been a member of Hamas since 1987, al-Arouri led the Islamic student movement and played a key role in establishing Hamas’ military wing in the West Bank. He faced repeated detentions by Israel, including extended periods between 1985-1992 and 1992-2007.

In 2010, Israel deported him to Syria, where he resided for three years before moving to Turkey. From there, he eventually relocated to Lebanon.