From PA
Published yesterday at 6:31 p.m., now updated
” data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >
A drone strike attributed to Israel eliminated Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon on Tuesday in retaliation for the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official in Beirut, was killed in an Israeli drone strike on Tuesday, January 2. The target was the offices of the Palestinian Islamist movement, which was responsible for the October 7 terrorist attack against Israel that killed more than 1,140 Israelis, mostly civilians. Several other Hamas members were reportedly eliminated in this targeted operation. The other victims would be bodyguards of Saleh al-Arouri who are present at Hamas offices in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, the stronghold of its ally Hezbollah.
Hamas will “never be defeated.”
Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh reiterated that his movement “will never be defeated” following the death of its number two, Saleh al-Arouri. “A movement whose leaders and founders fall as martyrs for the dignity of our people and our nation will never be defeated,” Mr. Haniyeh said in a televised address. “It is the story of resistance and the movement that becomes even stronger and more determined after the assassination of its leaders,” he added.
A senior Hamas official said the attack would not bring the “resistance” to its knees. “The Zionist occupier's cowardly assassinations against the leaders and symbols of our Palestinian people inside and outside Palestine will neither break the will and resilience of our people nor hinder the continuation of their brave resistance,” said Ezzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas Politburo , in a statement.
“Israeli crime”
The announcement of Saleh al-Arouri's death sparked condemnation in the region. The Lebanese prime minister described the Israeli attack on the Beirut suburbs as an “Israeli crime.” In a statement, he estimated that “this new Israeli crime aims to drag Lebanon into a new phase of confrontation” with Israel. Clashes between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have so far been limited to border areas in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon's powerful pro-Iran Hezbollah reiterated that Israel's “assassination” in its stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut “would not go unpunished.” “The crime of killing Saleh al-Arouri in the heart of the southern suburbs of Beirut is a serious aggression against Lebanon (…) and will not go unanswered or unpunished,” Hezbollah said in a statement after three months of Israel daily attacks were launched in southern Lebanon.
Macron calls on Israel to “avoid any escalatory stance”
Emmanuel Macron spoke to Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's emergency government, in the evening, the Élysée told Le Figaro. The head of state stressed that it is “essential to avoid any escalatory attitude, especially in Lebanon.” He also told the Israeli minister that “France will continue to convey these messages to all actors directly or indirectly involved in the region.”
The French leader also reiterated his call to “work towards a lasting ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas with the help of all regional and international partners, the Élysée said. He reiterated “his deepest concern at the very high civilian casualties and the absolute humanitarian emergency in Gaza” and reaffirmed “once again France's commitment to Israel's security.”
“Ready for all scenarios”
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh condemned the “assassination” of Hamas' number two and also warned of the consequences of “this crime.” Although Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have been at odds since 2007, Mr. Shtayyeh condemned “the attack that took place on Tuesday evening in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, where Saleh al-Arouri, the vice president of the Palestinian Authority office of the Hamas movement, was killed, as did two of his companions. He called the strike “a crime committed by known criminals” and warned “of the risks and consequences that could arise,” his office said in a statement. The same applies to Islamic Jihad, an armed group in Gaza, which denounced an “attempt by the Zionist enemy (…) to drag the entire region into war.”
Without directly mentioning the attack that killed Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon and for which Hamas blames Israel, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari reiterated during his daily press conference that the army is “just one step away.” “a high level of preparation for every scenario”.