Hamas television on Tuesday (Jan 2) announced that Israel killed the militant group’s deputy head in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
On its official channel, Hamas said that Saleh al-Aruri was killed in a “treacherous Zionist strike”.
A high-level security official in Beirut told the news agency AFP that Aruri was killed in the Israeli strike along with his bodyguards in the Lebanese capital, which is a stronghold of Hamas ally Hezbollah.
Reuters report said that on being asked about the same, the Israeli military said it does not respond to reports in the foreign media.
Hamas has slammed the killing, stating that Aruri’s death will not “undermine the continued brave resistance” in Gaza amid the ongoing war against Israeli forces.
“It proves once more the utter failure of the enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip,” senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.
Lebanon condemns the killing
Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the incident, saying the attack “aims to draw Lebanon” further into the Israel-Hamas war.
His office said in a statement, “Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut that killed and injured many.”
The attack “aims to draw Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations” with Israel.
This comes when Hezbollah has been exchanging daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
Who was Saleh al-Aruri?
Arouri was a senior official in Hamas’s politburo but was
(With inputs from agencies)
