Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a drone attack in a Beirut suburb.
Source: The Times of Israel citing a statement by senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq
Details: Hamas confirmed the murder of al-Arouri and blamed Israel for the crime.
“The cowardly murders committed by the Zionist occupation against the leaders and symbols of our Palestinian people in Palestine and beyond will not break the will and steadfastness of our people or undermine the continuation of their courageous resistance,” a senior Hamas official said in a statement.
At a news conference in November, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had “instructed Mossad to act against Hamas leaders wherever they are” following the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. At the same press conference, Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that all Hamas leaders are “living on borrowed time” and “the fight is being waged all over the world.”
Al-Arouri, 57, who lived in Lebanon, was deputy chairman of Hamas’s politburo and was considered the de facto leader of its military wing in the West Bank.
The Lebanese state news agency said the explosion, which occurred in a Beirut suburb, was the result of an Israeli drone strike on a Hamas office in Lebanon that killed six people. The Israeli army has not yet commented on the situation.
Background:
- IN THE USA considerthat Israel’s announcement of a gradual reduction in the number of its troops in Gaza indicates a gradual transition to a phase of war with less intensity.
- In December more 130 employees of the US Department of Homeland Security asked President Joe Biden’s administration to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
- In addition, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Israel risks suffering “strategic defeat” in Gaza unless it does more to protect civilians.
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2024-01-02 17:52:17
