Israel killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, the 2nd of January, expanding the war outside the Palestinian enclave, reports Reuters.
Israel neither confirmed nor denied the killing of the deputy leader, but its military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the Israeli armed forces were on high alert and ready for any scenario.
Fifty-seven-year-old al-Arouri is the first senior Hamas political leader to be killed since Israel launched an offensive against the group nearly three months ago following it’s the 7th of October assault and rampage through Israeli cities.
According to Reuters, Hamas politburo member, Hossam Badran, said in a memorial speech for al-Arouri:
“We are telling the criminal occupiers (Israel) that the battle between us has opened.”
Israel had long accused the recently killed Hamas official of organising attacks against its citizens. However, a Hamas official cited his important role in the Qatari-Egyptian facilitated talks.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously warned, promising a harsh response if Israel carried out assassinations on Lebanese territory. Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has been engaged in almost daily fighting with Israel on Lebanon’s southern border since the October war.
Following the killing of al-Arouri, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said it was deeply concerned about a possible escalation “that could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the border”, according to Reuters.
A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said al-Arouri’s killing would fuel hatred against Israel in the region,
with hundreds of Palestinians on Tuesday taking to the streets of West Bank cities in protest demanding revenge for al-Arouri’s death.
Shortly before al-Arouri’s killing, Hamas’s main leader Ismail Haniyeh announced that the group had responded to the Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal by reiterating that Hamas’s conditions include a “complete cessation of the Israeli offensive” in exchange for the further release of the hostages.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also pledged to continue attacking ships in the Red Sea until Israel ends the conflict in Gaza and have threatened to retaliate against US warships if they attack.
According to US Central Command, Houthi militants fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the southern Red Sea on Tuesday, but no damage was reported. The US has deployed an international task force to protect ships sailing through the Red Sea, a major global container cargo route leading to the Suez Canal, writes Reuters.
Also read: Israel says Gaza war could last months
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