Who was Saleh al-Arouri, the senior Hamas official killed in strikes in Beirut?

The Lebanese security agencies on Tuesday (Jan 2) confirmed that Hamas' deputy head,Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in Israeli strikes inthesouthern suburbs of Beirut.

Al-Arouri died in a drone strike which landed at a Hamas office inDahiyeh, aHezbollah (Iran-backed terror outfit based in Lebanon) stronghold. Hamas later confirmed his death, calling it a“cowardly assassination” by Israel.

Who was Saleh al-Arouri?

Al-Arouri was elected as the deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau in 2017. Soon after his election, he visited Tehran to strengthen ties with Iran and met with the head ofHezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.

His immediate trip to Tehran helped forge a closer relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah in the years to come.

Notably, al-Arouri was killed on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the US killing ofQasem Soleimani. Some believe the timing was deliberate to send a message to Gaza, Beirut and Tehran simultaneously.

Apart from being the deputy chief of Hamas' political bureau, al-Arouri was also one of the founders of the group's armedwing, theQassam Brigades.

According to reports, al-Arouri had spent 15 years in an Israeli jail and had been living in exile in Lebanon after his release. Immediately after the October 7 strikes, Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu threatened to kill him. Notably, al-Arouri was seen meeting Nasrallah and Ziad Nakhale, the secretary general of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Gaza-based terrorgroup.

The US State Department has offered a bounty of up to $5 million for information on al-Arouri's whereabouts for years.

Hamas warns of response

After the attack that killed one of its biggest leaders, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in a televised address said the Palestinian terror group "will never be defeated".

"A movement whose leaders and founders fall as martyrs for the dignity of our people and our nation will never be defeated," Haniyeh said in a televised address.

Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the incident, saying the attack "aims to draw Lebanon" further into the Israel-Hamas war.

While Israel is yet to officially comment on al-Arouri's death,Mark Regev, an adviser to Netanyahu, told the US outlet MSNBC that Israel does not take responsibility for this attack.

“Whoever did it, it must be clear: this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership," he added.

Since the war first broke out, Israel has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, as per the Hamas-run health ministry,while over 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians have lost their lives.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)