Credit, EPA
caption,
The attack on a Hamas leader's building in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, was reportedly carried out using a drone
Item information
- Author: Lyse Doucet
- Scroll, BBC News
48 minutes ago
Arouri, Hamas' deputy political leader, was killed in a drone strike in southern Beirut.
He was a key figure in the Izzedine alQassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, and a close ally of Ismail Haniyeh, the group's supreme leader.
Arouri was in Lebanon acting as a liaison between Hamas and Hezbollah.
Even before the war began, after Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7 last year, Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that any attack on Lebanese soil would trigger a “strong reaction.”
But Hezbollah and its allies in Iran know that the shape of that response could change the course of the war at this time of intensifying hostilities.
It was no secret that it was only a matter of time before Hamas leaders outside the Gaza Strip would be targeted by Israel.
“Israel will take action against Hamas leaders wherever they are,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in November.
Months earlier, he specifically mentioned Arouri.
As of 2018, the Hamas deputy leader was also on the United States terror list and was rewarded with a $5 million (approximately R$24.4 million) bounty.
Israel does not normally confirm or deny killings, but this long conflict is a chronicle of targeted killings. It is also a story of retribution and revenge.
Israel is prepared for reprisals. There are threats from the leaders of Hamas and its allies, from the streets of the occupied West Bank and elsewhere.
Credit, Portal
caption,
Salah alArouri was vice president of Hamas's political office and founder of the group's military wing
Change in calculations
Hezbollah and Hamas may want to take action to demonstrate their strength. Hezbollah's initial statement took time.
Previously, this significantly armed military and political group had sought to limit its involvement to a war of words and limited attacks along its southern border with Israel.
Hezbollah had acted in this way to prevent Lebanon from being drawn into another armed conflict with Israel.
The assassination of a Hamas leader, a key link to Hezbollah and Iran, in one of its strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut shook his calculations.
But Hezbollah must avoid major attacks in the short term relative to its longterm goal.
Public support for Hezbollah on Lebanon's southern border is high. But in Beirut and elsewhere in the country, memories of the devastating 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon are still vivid in a country currently recovering from multiple internal crises.
It is also no secret that senior Israeli figures have long urged the government to maximize the opportunity to eliminate Hezbollah's threats to its northern communities.
But Israel was categorical from the start: its war goal was the “destruction of Hamas.” This means it concerns the group's infrastructure, military and political leaders, and finances.
Almost three months after the start of the war, Israel admits there is still a long way to go.
Many of the country's enemies and allies question whether Hamas can be destroyed by military might and a campaign that has caused a staggering number of civilian deaths and a terrible humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
Photo credit: Getty Images
caption,
Property was damaged in the explosion that killed Arouri in Beirut
The masterminds of the atrocities committed by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, including Yahya Sinwar, are believed to still be hiding in Gaza despite a manhunt by Israeli forces.
Arouri's death in Lebanon could also raise concerns in Turkey and Qatar, where Hamas leaders are also based and believe they are safer there.
The move could also worry Israeli families whose relatives are still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
One of the first casualties of this attack was the disruption of direct dialogue in Cairo, Egypt, on another hostage exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to insist that “only pressure will work.”