UN chief urged maximum restraint following assassination of Hamas deputy chief in Lebanon

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged maximum restraint Tuesday from all parties following the assassination of Hamas deputy chief Saleh Arouri in Lebanon.

"The Secretary-General urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint and take urgent steps to deescalate tensions in the region," UN spokeswoman Florencia Soto Nino said at a news conference.

She said the UN appeals to all members of the international community to do everything in their power to prevent an escalation of the situation.

"We don't want any rash actions that could trigger further violence," she added.

Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a Hamas office in Mecherfeh in southern Beirut. At least six people were killed in the attack. The Palestinian group confirmed Arouri’s death and said two commanders of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, were also killed.

Arouri is the most senior Hamas leader to have been killed by Israel since the outbreak of the Oct. 7 conflict in Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

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

The border tension comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

At least 22,185 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,035 injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.​​​​​​​