Hamas Political Bureau No. 2, Saleh al-Aruri, Killed in Israeli Strike Near Beirut

Saleh al-Aruri, the second-in-command in the Hamas political bureau, was killed in an Israeli strike near Beirut on Tuesday 2, two officials from the Palestinian movement and the Lebanese security services announced.

According to one of them, the strike that killed him and his bodyguards targeted a Hamas office in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. Four people were killed in the drone explosion, according to the Lebanese News Agency. Saleh al-Aruri is considered one of the founders of the military wing of Hamas.

Hamas confirmed that there was “murdered” In an Israeli strike on Beirut. “Hamas Politburo Deputy Chief Sheikh Saleh al-Aruri Martyred in Zionist Strike in Beirut”The movement said in a statement broadcast by its official channel Al-Aqsa TV and its other media outlets.

“The cowardly massacres by the Zionist occupier against the leaders and symbols of our Palestinian people both inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in breaking the will and resilience of our people or preventing the continuation of their heroic resistance.”Also confirmed in a press release is Ezzat Al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau.

Released in 2010

Contacted by Reuters, the Israeli military said it would not respond to questions about reports from foreign press. According to a Reuters journalist, the strike targeted a building located in a densely populated area of ​​Daniyev, close to a highway. An Agence France-Presse photographer at the site saw two floors of the building washed away and damaged cars in the area, with ambulances rushing to the scene.

The region is considered a stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which has supported Hamas since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, firing almost daily rockets into northern Israel, resulting in border clashes unprecedented since 2006. The fire has so far been confined to the border area and the Israeli army has not targeted the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon's interim prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the attack “The New Israeli Crime” And it was seen as a new attempt by the Jewish state to induce Lebanon to take part in the war. The death of Hamas No. 2 came before a speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

Saleh al-Aruri, accused by Israel of masterminding several attacks, was elected in 2017 as deputy to Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, thus becoming the movement's number two. After spending nearly twenty years in Israeli prisons, he was released in 2010 on condition that he be deported and has been living in Lebanon ever since.