Hamas deputy chief killed in explosion in Lebanese capital

By Fayez Abdulsalam

BEIRUT (AA) – Hamas deputy chief Saleh Arouri was killed in an explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

The broadcaster said an Israeli drone struck a Hamas office in Mecherfeh in southern Beirut, killing at least three people. A parked car in the area was seen in flames.

There was no comment yet from Lebanese authorities or Hamas on the attack.

Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.

The border tension comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,185 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.