Israeli missile targets Hamas leader in Beirut
On the night of Jan. 2nd, Hamas senior leader Saleh Al-Arouri was targeted by an Israeli strike in Dahiyeh, Beirut with many analysts worrying that this strike could trigger the expansion of the war in the region.
According to Lebanon’s national news agency, the missile targeted a Hamas office in the southern region of Dahiyeh. This attack represents the first assassination of a Hamas official beyond Palestinian territories since October 7th, resulting in the deaths of four Palestinians and three Lebanese individuals.
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A witness recounted the scene to Reuters, observing a building with a significant hole on what appeared to be the third floor, with limbs and flesh scattered on the roadside.
According to Hamas, Arouri, the deputy Hamas chief, was killed in a Hamas office in Dahiyeh along with Qassam Brigade officials Samir Findi Abu Amer and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman, Mark Regev, said that Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack but “whoever did it, it must be clear: That this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.”
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, said that this is a “new Israel crime” and stated that Israel wants to drag Lebanon into war.
The Islamic Jihad vowed revenge in a statement, saying: “This crime will not go unpunished and the resistance will continue until the occupation is removed.”
Hezbollah chief Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah has previously cautioned Israel against committing an assassination on Lebanese soil, in a previously televised speech.
Reuters
