Hamas deputy leader and three other members killed in explosion in Beirut
2 January 2024, 17:00 | Updated: 2 January 2024, 19:06
Top Hamas official Saleh Arouri has been killed in an explosion south of Beirut, according to local media.
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An explosion shook the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs on Tuesday evening, causing chaos in the militant Hezbollah group's stronghold, but the nature of the blast was not immediately known.
It was not clear if the explosion inflicted any casualties in the Beirut suburb but videos circulating on social media showed serious damage and fire.
The strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, according to reports.
"Four people were martyred and a number of others injured when the Hamas office was targeted," Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said.
The news agency said the strike was carried out by an Israeli drone, although nobody has yet officially claimed responsibility for the attack.
Israeli officials declined to comment.
Arouri, one of the founders of Hamas's military wing, had headed the group's presence in the West Bank.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him even before the Hamas-Israel war began on October 7.
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The explosion came during more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and members of Hezbollah along Lebanon's southern border.
Since the fighting began it has been concentrated a few miles from the border but on several occasions Israel's air force hit Hezbollah targets deeper in Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out several attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border targeting Israeli military posts.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah earlier vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials killed in Lebanon.
Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, labelled the attack a ‘cowardly assassination’.
He added that such strikes “will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance”.
