Security official: Hamas number two killed in Israeli attack
In addition to Saleh al-Aruri, his bodyguards were also killed in the drone attack, the two Lebanese security representatives explained. So far, the clashes between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia - an ally of the Palestinian Hamas - have been limited to the border areas in the south of Lebanon.
Aruri was killed along with his bodyguards in the attack on the Hamas office on the southern outskirts of Beirut, one of the security representatives told the AFP news agency. The area is considered a stronghold of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia.
Hamas reported the "assassination" of al-Aruri in its official media. "The vice president of the Hamas political bureau, Sheikh Saleh al-Aruri, was martyred in a Zionist attack in Beirut," Hamas announced on its official television channel, al-Aksa TV, and its other media.
Two heads of the Essedin al-Kassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, were also killed. It was also said that the attack would not "break the resistance".
According to Lebanon 's state news agency, a total of six people were killed in the Israeli attack. "The number of martyrs has risen to six," reported NNA. According to the report, a meeting of Palestinian groups was taking place in the Hamas office at the time of the attack. The agency had initially reported four dead.
An AFP photographer saw two destroyed floors of a building and damaged vehicles. According to the report, buildings and cars were damaged within a radius of around one hundred meters.
The Lebanese head of government Nadschib Mikati spoke of an "Israeli crime". According to a statement published by his office, he accused Israel of wanting to drag Lebanon into a "new phase of confrontation".
Aruri, whom Israel holds responsible for planning numerous attacks, was elected deputy to Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniya in 2017. This officially made him the Islamist organization's number two.
After spending almost 20 years in Israeli prisons, he was released in 2010 on the condition that he go into exile. Since then, he has lived in Lebanon like many other Hamas representatives. According to eyewitnesses, his empty house in the West Bank was destroyed with explosives by the Israeli army in October.
Israel and Hamas have been at war for almost three months. This was triggered by a major attack on Israel by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, in which around 1,140 people were killed on 7 October and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
In response to the major Hamas attack, Israel has been bombing targets in the Gaza Strip since 9 October and has also launched a ground offensive - with the aim of destroying the radical Islamic organization. According to the latest figures from the Hamas Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 22,100 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since then. The Israeli military, for its part, reports 173 soldiers killed.
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- The Lebanese security representatives stated that the Number two of Hamas, Saleh al-Aruri, and his bodyguards were also killed in the drone attack, carried out by Israel.
- The clashes between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, an ally of Hamas, have mainly been limited to the border areas in the south of Lebanon.
- Hamas announced the "assassination" of al-Aruri on its official television channel, al-Aksa TV, and its other media, following his death in a Zionist attack in Beirut.
- Two heads of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, were also reportedly killed in the same attack.
- According to Lebanon's state news agency, NNA, a total of six people were killed in the Israeli attack, including Aruri and his bodyguards.
- The Israeli military has been bombing targets in the Gaza Strip since 9 October and has also launched a ground offensive against Hamas, which Israel considers a terrorist organization.
- The attack on the Hamas office in the southern outskirts of Beirut was condemned by the Lebanese head of government Nadjib Mikati as an "Israeli crime" and a desire to drag Lebanon into a "new phase of confrontation."
- Saleh al-Aruri, who was responsible for planning numerous attacks against Israel, had been living in exile in Lebanon since his release from an Israeli prison in 2010 after serving almost 20 years.
Source: www.stern.de
