An explosion killed Saleh al-Aruri, Hamas' number two, in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Beirut on Tuesday afternoon. The Islamist organization accuses Israel of the attack in the Lebanese capital, but Benjamin Netanyahu's government has so far not acknowledged responsibility. If confirmed, it would be Israel's biggest success since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, eliminating the Islamist organization's highest-ranking militant. It would also be the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since 2006. According to Reuters, a missile launched from a drone was the cause of his death and that of two other leaders of the group's armed wing.
Al-Aruri, a co-founder of Hamas' armed wing, the Ezedin al-Qassam Brigades, was the main aide to Hamas leader Ismail Haniye. His death comes amid talks between the two sides for a possible ceasefire and exchange of hostages kidnapped by Hamas and Palestinians held in Israeli jails. After learning of his disappearance, Haniye has reiterated that his conditions for a new exchange necessarily involve Israel decreeing "a complete cessation" of its military offensive in Gaza.
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Three months after the attacks that killed 1,200 Israelis and the start of the Israeli military response that has killed more than 21,000 people in the Gaza Strip, the elimination of al-Aruri is a success for the Netanyahu government, which, since 7 October, has been working on the Israeli government. Despite besieging the territory by land, sea and air, it had failed to capture or eliminate any senior Hamas figureheads. Al-Aruri's position in the organization surpasses what is considered Israel's number one target, the leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahia Sinwar, and his lieutenant and local leader of the military wing, Mohamed Deif.
Al-Aruri, a native of a village near Ramallah, was also the head of the militia in the West Bank. His murder has sparked protests in the center of the Palestinian capital. Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati has condemned the explosion as a "new Israeli crime" that he says seeks to involve his country in the war. Hamas has confirmed his death in what it considers "a cowardly murder." Iran, for its part, has assured that the attack "will ignite the veins of resistance and motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers, not only in Palestine, but in the region." The Tehran regime backs the militias of Hezbollah (Lebanon), related groups in Syria and Iraq, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen who have increased their hostilities against Israel since the start of their offensive in Gaza.
The attack took place at Hamas offices in Dahiye, a suburb of Beirut controlled by Hezbollah, the Shiite militia that exchanges rockets, air fire and artillery with Israel in the north of the country on an almost daily basis. In addition to al-Aruri's death, the attack led to the deaths of five other people, Reuters reports. The Israeli military has refused to confirm responsibility for the attack. Mark Regev, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC that Israel was not responsible for the bombing. "Whoever it was, this must be clear: this was not an attack on Lebanon," he said. "Whoever did it carried out a surgical strike against the leadership of Hamas," he added.
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