UPDATE – Hamas confirms assassination of deputy chief Arouri in Lebanon

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS CHANGES; REVISES HEADLINE

By Fayez Abdulsalam

BEIRUT (AA) – Palestinian group Hamas on Tuesday confirmed the assassination of its deputy chief Saleh Arouri in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Hamas said that two commanders of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, were also killed, its news agency Al-Rai reported.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency earlier reported that Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a Hamas office in Mecherfeh, southern Beirut. At least six people were killed in the attack.

Arouri is the most senior Hamas leader to have been killed by Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7.

Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of gunfire 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.​​​​​​​