In a targeted Israeli drone strike on Tuesday night in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, three security sources revealed that Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri lost his life. The Israeli military declined to confirm the reports when questioned by Reuters.
Saleh al-Arouri, a prominent figure in Hamas’s politburo and one of the founders of its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, had a $5 million bounty on him from the U.S. Hamas officially confirmed his death via the affiliated Al-Aqsa radio, with a senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Sharq, denouncing it as a “cowardly assassination.”
The Israeli drone targeted a Hamas office in Dahiyeh, resulting in a total of six casualties, though the identities of the other three victims remained unconfirmed at the time of the reports. The aftermath of the strike was visible, with a Reuters witness in Dahiyeh describing firefighters and paramedics gathered around a multi-story building that sustained significant damage.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the incident, characterizing it as a “new Israeli crime” and suggesting that it was an attempt to provoke hostilities and draw Lebanon into a larger conflict. The broader context includes ongoing exchanges of fire between Hezbollah, a powerful ally of Hamas, and the Israeli military along Lebanon’s southern frontier since the eruption of hostilities between Hamas and Israel in October.
The tensions have resulted in Israeli airstrikes and shelling, causing more than 100 casualties among Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians, including children, the elderly, and journalists, according to Hezbollah and security sources. The situation reflects the complex and volatile dynamics in the region, raising concerns about a further escalation of conflict.