A top Hamas military official, who founded their military wing, was just killed in an explosion in southern Beirut, Lebanon. The explosion was likely an assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, but that has not been confirmed.
Yashar Ali reports:
Islamic Republic state media is confirming that senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an explosion in Beirut tonight.
This is a significant development. Israeli intelligence has been trying to kill al-Arouri for years and the United States has had a 5 million dollar bounty on him.
Al-Arouri is a deputy political leader for Hamas and one of the founders of al-Qassam Brigades, the so-called military wing of Hamas.
The United States has listed al-Arouri as a designated global terrorist since 2015.
In 2014, al-Arouri was the Hamas leader who announced that three Israeli teenagers (including a dual US national) were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank. He referred to the murders as “heroic.”
BREAKING
Islamic Republic state media is confirming that senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an explosion in Beirut tonight.
This is a significant development. Israeli intelligence has been trying to kill al-Arouri for years and the United States has had a 5… pic.twitter.com/N9Z9wEnTcg
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 2, 2024
Another report from JPost’s editor-in-chief:
BREAKING: The deputy head of Hamas and founder of its military wing, Saleh al-Arouri, has reportedly been killed in an explosion in Beirut.
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) January 2, 2024
This is the aftermath of the explosion:
דיווח: בכיר פלסטיני נהרג בפיצוץ ברובע הדאחיה בביירותhttps://t.co/wN5SdnkKsI pic.twitter.com/UhJJvKDPJu
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) January 2, 2024
[UPDATE: HAMAS CONFIRMS]
Hamas says one of its senior officials has been killed in Beirut. His home in the West Bank was demolished by Israel's army in October. https://t.co/5mrIiBAbJN
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 2, 2024