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The biggest blow to the top leadership of Hamas in years came on Tuesday night with the death of a senior leader. He was a key figure in the group’s alignment of the Palestinian militant group with Iran and Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah.
Israel has not formally acknowledged being the cause of the suspected Israeli strike that killed Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut. Arouri was a political figure in Hamas who was well-known for his diplomatic skills and who had aided in the formation of the group’s military wing in the 1980s. His passing dealt a symbolic and practical blow to the Islamist, Palestinian nationalist organization.
Military analysts predicted that while his passing would likely impede the group’s diplomatic efforts, it wouldn’t have a significant effect on the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
According to Hamas, Arouri was the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which claimed 1,200 lives—the majority of them civilians—and resulted in a conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as well as an Israeli promise to kill the Hamas leaders accountable for the assault.
Following the killing, Israel declared itself to be on high alert. Since the start of the conflict, Tuesday’s explosion seems to be the first time a Hamas leader has been targeted outside of the Gaza Strip. The leaders of Israel have vowed to pursue every leader of Hamas worldwide involved in October 7.
The head of Mossad issued a warning on Wednesday, saying that Israel would target anyone involved in the planning of October 7, even though Israel hasn’t formally taken responsibility for the killing in Beirut. Israel’s intelligence agency “is obligated to settle accounts with the murderers who raided Gaza border communities on October 7, with the planners and with those who sent them,” according to Mossad chief David Barnea.
Military analysts claim that despite internal Hamas dissension, Arouri pushed to strengthen ties with other militant groups as the Hamas official closest to Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Since the conflict began on October 7, Arouri has encouraged Hamas to use southern Lebanon as a staging area for its military operations, including the rockets the organization has fired into Israel from Lebanon.
