Israel said that the killing of a Hamas leader in Beirut was not meant to harm Lebanon, despite warnings from its enemies that there would be consequences for his death.
Israel has not said if they killed Saleh al-Arouri or not, but a spokesperson said it was a precise attack on the leaders of the Hamas group.
Hamas called it a “terrorist act” and Hezbollah said it was an attack on Lebanon’s independence.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister said Israel is trying to make them join a big fight with other countries in the area.
Lebanese news says that Arouri, a top leader of Hamas, was killed by a drone in southern Beirut on Tuesday along with six other people – two military leaders and four other members of Hamas.
He played a big role in the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the group that fights for Hamas, and was a good friend of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas. He was in Lebanon to help his group communicate with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been shooting at each other almost every day since the war started between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. But, the fighting has mostly stayed around the border of Israel and Lebanon.
Hezbollah is a big and strong group in Lebanon, and also has some people in the government. Some countries, like Israel and the UK, think Hezbollah is a terrorist group.
The Israel Army didn’t say anything about killing Saleh al-Arouri, but they said they are ready for anything.
“The IDF is fully prepared to defend and attack in all areas,” said spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari at a meeting.
“The main thing to say tonight is that we are focused on fighting Hamas, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
Israeli government adviser Mark Regev didn’t confirm that Israel did the attack, but he said on MSNBC that whoever did it, it wasn’t an attack on Lebanon.
“It wasn’t an attack on Hezbollah, the terrorist group. ”
“Someone made a precise and targeted attack on the leaders of Hamas. ” The person who did this is angry with Hamas. “That is very easy to understand. ”
Arouri, who is 57 years old, is the highest-ranking member of Hamas to be killed since Israel started fighting with the group following its attack on 7 October.
That day, a lot of Hamas fighters went into Israel and attacked towns near the border. They killed about 1,200 people, most of them were regular people, and they took about 240 as hostages to Gaza.
Israel started a military attack to destroy Hamas.
Since then, over 22,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed by Israel in attacks on Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry run by Hamas.
Lebanon’s official news agency said that Arouri was killed by an Israeli drone at a Hamas office in a southern suburb of Beirut called Dahiyeh.
A person from Reuters news agency saw firefighters and paramedics at a tall building with a big hole on the third floor.
Videos on social media showed a car on fire and a lot of damage to buildings in a crowded neighborhood.
Dahiyeh is a place where Hezbollah is very strong.
Mr Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political section, said the attack was cowardly. Violent attack, breaking Lebanon’s rules, and making the problem worse.
Hezbollah said that they see Arouri’s death as a big attack on Lebanon, its people, its safety, freedom, and strength, and it sends important messages about politics and safety.
The attack was a very bad thing in the war. “We, in Hezbollah, promise that we will not let this crime go without a punishment.
“Its hand is on the trigger, and its resistors are ready and prepared at the highest levels,” it said.
Iran, which strongly supports both groups, said that Arouri’s killing would definitely make the resistance stronger.
The meeting to talk about what to do after the war in Gaza was cancelled.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, said on BBC Radio 4 that his government is talking to Hezbollah to tell them not to take action. He also said that they are having a conversation with them about this.
In the next day, we will find out if they will answer or not. We are worried that the people of Lebanon, including Hezbollah, do not want to get involved in a war with other countries.
He asked the West to push Israel to stop all its violent actions in Lebanon, Beirut, and Gaza.
The leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised to get rid of the leaders of Hamas no matter where they are.
Israeli media reports said that Arouri was seen as the unofficial leader of Hamas’s military group in the West Bank and was responsible for supervising attacks in that area.
People think he helped take and kill three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank in 2014. They also say he was in prison in Israel for other violent acts.
The Times of Israel reported that he was one of the top Hamas officials with strong ties to Iran and Hezbollah.