The deputy head of the Islamist Hamas’s political bureau, Saleh al-Aruri, is said to have died in an explosion in Beirut. The German Press Agency learned this from Hezbollah militia circles. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television station also reported that Al-Aruri was dead. In total, at least three people were killed, the state news agency NNA reported.
The explosion occurred in front of a Hamas office and, according to police sources, in a southern district of Beirut where Hezbollah has a strong presence. The exact reasons behind the explosion initially remained unclear. Hamas blamed Israel for the alleged killing. Saleh al-Aruri died in an attack by “the Zionist occupation,” the Islamist organization said. According to Hamas, the attack proves Israel’s “catastrophic failure” to achieve its war goals in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military did not want to comment on the reports when asked.
Meanwhile, Lebanese military expert and former general Chalil Hilo described the situation as “very dangerous.” Hezbollah will not tolerate an attack in its stronghold in Beirut.
Al-Aruri, whom Israel saw as the mastermind of attacks in the West Bank, had long been considered a possible target for an attack. He is said to have been responsible for the activities of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank. Israel and Hamas exchanged threats in the summer – even before their ongoing war began. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Al-Aruri “knows very well why he and his friends are in hiding.”
A burning car and wailing sirens
Eyewitnesses said a drone attack first hit a building and then a car, from which civil guards pulled a charred body after the fire. Lebanese media reported that Al-Aruri was killed in an apartment. Hamas sources said a Palestinian group had held a meeting in the area that evening.
Videos following the explosion in Beirut showed at least one car burning near a busy street. Ambulance sirens could also be heard. White smoke rose above the area and there were shards of glass on the street. Soon after, hundreds of Hezbollah supporters gathered in the area.
Likud party member congratulates
The armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party in the West Bank said the al-Aqsa Brigades were mourning the man killed. They threatened to “respond to all crimes of the enemy against our people” – without mentioning Israel by name. Hamas sources said there had been a meeting of the Palestinian factions in Beirut.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtaje condemned “the assassination of Aruri.” It is a crime and will have consequences. Shtaje recently said in an interview with the Bloomberg news agency that in his preferred scenario, after the end of the Gaza war, Hamas would become a junior partner of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is dominated by the Palestinian organization Fatah. The US wants the PA to take back control of the Gaza Strip after the war ends.
Danny Danon, a senior member of the Likud party, which also includes Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, congratulated Israel’s military, intelligence services and security forces on Everyone involved in the October 7 massacre should know that Israel will reach them, he wrote. According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli cabinet secretary has banned ministers from commenting on the incident. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X: “All your enemies will perish, Israel.”
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke of an “Israeli crime that definitely wants to lead Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations.” Since the beginning of the Gaza war almost three months ago, there have been increasingly deadly confrontations between Israel’s army and Hezbollah near their shared border.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani blamed Israel for the death of the Hamas representative and condemned the alleged attack. It was “the result of desperation and a serious and irreparable defeat against Palestinian resistance groups,” said Kanaani, according to a statement from his ministry. Kanaani also called for a response from the UN Security Council.
Al-Aruri was the Hezbollah chief’s interlocutor
Al-Aruri was reportedly 58 years old and spent a total of twelve years in Israeli prisons before his release in 2010. He enjoyed privileges as an interlocutor for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who rarely appears in public. Al-Aruri is also said to have been one of the negotiators for the release of hostages held by Hamas last month. Israel’s army destroyed Al-Aruri’s home in the West Bank at the end of October.
The explosion occurred on the eve of the third anniversary of the killing of General Ghassem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The USA killed him in a drone strike in Iraq in 2020. Recently, senior Iranian general Sejed-Rasi Mousavi was killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike in Syria. A speech by Nasrallah was announced for Wednesday to mark the anniversary.
There were demonstrations in Al-Aruri’s home village of Arura north of Ramallah and in Ramallah itself in the evening. A general strike was also called in the West Bank.
