Top Hamas leader assassinated by Israel in Beirut

News Desk - The Cradle

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned weeks ago of a strong response if any Hamas leader were killed in Lebanon

Saleh al-Arouri, a senior leader of Hamas and co-founder of its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was assassinated in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut on the evening of 2 January by an apparent Israeli drone strike. 

The strike targeted a building housing a Hamas office with three missiles, killing Arouri and six other leaders and cadres of the movement: Samir Fandi, Azzam al-Aqra, Mahmoud Zaki Shaheen, Mohammad Bashasha, Mohammad al-Rayes, and Ahmed Hammoud. 

“The cowardly assassinations carried out by the Zionist occupation against the leaders and symbols of our Palestinian people inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people or in undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance,” senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement, claiming that the strike “proves once again the abject failure of the enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's advisor, Mark Regev, denied responsibility, telling MSNBC:

"We did not claim responsibility for the Beirut attack, and it did not target the Lebanese government or Hezbollah."

An hour earlier, however, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said, 

"I congratulate the Israeli army, Shin Bet, Mossad and security forces on the assassination of Hamas Terrorist leader Saleh Al-Arouri."

Two US officials told Axios Israel was indeed behind Tuesday's strike but claimed it didn't notify the White House in advance of the attack.

A senior Israeli official confirmed Israel did not notify the US in advance but said it notified the White House "as the operation was happening."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah publicly warned Israel several weeks ago against trying to kill Hamas leaders in Beirut. He threatened a strong response if that happened.

Arouri was also the Qassam Brigades’ military commander of the occupied West Bank. He worked to strengthen the movement’s presence there by funding and planning operations against Israeli forces.

He has also recently been described as “one of the architects" of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, in which Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions attacked Israeli military bases and settlements in the Gaza envelope on 7 October.

In 1992, he was taken captive and imprisoned by the Israeli army for 18 years. In 2015, he was designated a terrorist by the US State Department. In 2017, he was elected deputy leader of the Hamas Political Bureau. Then, in 2018, the US State Department announced a $5 million reward for any information leading to his capture. 

Arouri played an important role in executing “Operation Faithful To The Free” which led to the exchange of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas political leader in Gaza.

While based in Beirut, Arouri coordinated closely with Hezbollah-Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian officials as part of the Axis of Resistance.

In August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to assassinate Arouri. 

In response, Arouri answered, “Abu Ammar [Yaser Arafat] was martyred along with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and all the leaders of Hamas. Abu Ali Mustafa [PFLP leader] and thousands of martyrs. Our blood and souls are not more precious or more valued than any martyr. First and last, the martyr who preceded us is superior to us."