Six people are reported dead following a drone attack on a Hamas office in a Southern suburb of Beirut on January 2, 2024. One of the confirmed dead was the Deputy Chief of the movement’s Political Bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, prompting many to term the attack a targeted assassination. Al-Arouri was a founder of Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
Al Jazeera correspondent in Southern Lebanon Ali Hashem said that al-Arouri was one of the more prominent and visible figures in Hamas due to his role in coordinating between the political and military wings, as well as with other factions of the Palestinian resistance and regional groups. Israel accused al-Arouri of being in charge of the al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank. This is why, Hashem explained, al-Arouri was a key target for Israel, and had been facing death threats from the Zionist state for several years.
Tuesday’s attack is the first time that the Israeli Air Force has bombed Beirut since 2006. Analysts warn that such an attack is likely to provoke a response from regional resistance groups which have thus far been holding back from large-scale attacks against Israel.
As journalist Rania Khalek of Breakthrough News commented, “Israel is playing with fire by assassinating Hamas officials in Beirut. They are begging for escalation. But Hezbollah is a powerful adversary capable of doing great damage to Israel… If Israel can’t defeat Qassam, which is operating under the harshest conditions from inside a besieged death camp, there is no way they can even begin to properly face the larger and more powerful Hezbollah without severe consequences.”
Back in August 2023, following threatening comments from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu about al-Arouri, Hezbollah the Secretary General stated, “Any assassination on Lebanese soil against a Lebanese, Palestinian, Iranian or Syrian person will be met with a strong response. We cannot remain silent and allow opening the Lebanese scene to assassinations.”
