The deputy head of the Islamist Hamas’s political bureau, Saleh al-Aruri, is said to have died in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Hamas-affiliated media reports this.
According to Lebanese security officials, the number two of the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas was killed in an explosion in a suburb of Beirut. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television station also reported that Al-Aruri was dead. In total, at least three people were killed, the state news agency NNA reported.
Saleh al-Aruri was killed along with his bodyguards in the attack on the Hamas office south of Beirut, a senior security official told the AFP news agency on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards, the Hamas TV station reported the “murder” of Al-Arouri. Videos following the explosion in Beirut showed at least one car burning near a busy street. Ambulance sirens could also be heard. White smoke rose over the area.
Explosion in Beirut: Videos show burning car
The exact reasons behind the explosion initially remained unclear. “The vice president of the Hamas political bureau, Sheikh Saleh al-Aruri, was martyred in a Zionist attack in Beirut,” Hamas announced on its official television channel, al-Aqsa TV, and its other media outlets. Israel’s military did not want to comment on the reports when asked by DPA.
However, Danny Danon, a senior member of the Likud party, which also includes Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, congratulated Israel’s military, intelligence services and security forces on Everyone involved in the October 7 massacre should know that Israel will reach them, he wrote. According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli cabinet secretary has banned ministers from commenting on the incident. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X: “All your enemies will perish, Israel.”
Meanwhile, Lebanese military expert and former general Chalil Hilo described the situation as “very dangerous.” Hezbollah will not tolerate an attack in its stronghold in Beirut. Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke of an “Israeli crime that definitely wants to lead Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations.” Since the beginning of the Gaza war almost three months ago, there have been increasingly deadly confrontations between Israel’s army and Hezbollah near their shared border.
Al-Aruri was considered the head of Hamas’s military wing in the West Bank
Al-Aruri, whom Israel saw as the mastermind of attacks in the West Bank, had long been considered a possible target for an attack. He was considered responsible for the activities of Hamas’s military wing in the West Bank. Israel and Hamas exchanged threats in the summer – even before their ongoing war began. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Al-Aruri “knows very well why he and his friends are in hiding.”
The explosion occurred on the eve of the third anniversary of the killing of General Ghassem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The USA killed him in a drone strike in Iraq in 2020. Recently, senior Iranian general Sejed-Rasi Mousavi was killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike in Syria.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
