Hamas deputy head Saleh Arouri killed in explosion in Beirut, Hezbollah says

Saleh Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas' military wing. He also headed the group's presence in the West Bank.

Lebanon's Hezbollah group said that top Hamas official Saleh Arouri was killed in an explosion in a southern Beirut suburb. Saleh Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas' military wing. He also headed the group's presence in the West Bank. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him even before the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, Associated Press reported.

Head of Hamas delegation Saleh al-Arouri speaks. (Reuters)

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the blast killed four people and was carried out by an Israeli drone after an explosion shook the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs.

What Hamas said on Saleh Arouri's death?

Hamas vowed that the killing will not "undermine the continued brave resistance" in Gaza. Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement, “It proves once more the utter failure of the enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip.” The Hamas politburo member said that it was a “cowardly assassination.”

What Hezbollah and Lebanon said on Saleh Arouri?

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in Lebanon as per Associated Press while Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion as a "new Israeli crime" saying that it was an attempt to pull Lebanon into war.

What Israel has said on the strike?

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC that Israel had not taken responsibility for this attack, but “whoever did it, it must be clear: That this was not attack an attack on the Lebanese state. Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership.”

What we know about the strike?

Videos circulating widely on social media showed serious damage and fire after the explosion which came during more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah along Lebanon's southern border.

Earlier, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out several attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border targeting Israeli military posts.

The drone struck the Hamas office in Dahiyeh leaving a total of six people dead, Lebanon's state news agency reported.

Israeli air strikes have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians, according to Hezbollah.