GAZA / BEIRUT: Israel’s aggression reached the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, where a strike killed the deputy leader of Hamas, Saleh al-Aruri, the group and security officials in Lebanon said.

A high-level security official said that Saleh al-Aruri was killed along with his guards in the strike.

Another official confirmed the information, adding that two floors of the targeted building and one car were damaged.

Lebanese state media reported the strike hit a Hamas office in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said to be a stronghold of Hezbollah. Hamas TV also said Israel had killed Aruri in Beirut, while Lebanese media reported that a total of six people were killed in the strike.

Lebanon’s prime minister condemned Israel’s killing of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri in Beirut’s southern suburb on Tuesday, saying the attack “aims to draw Lebanon” further into the Israel-Hamas war.

Palestinian Red Crescent HQ in Khan Yunis hit; Gaza death toll now at 22,185

“Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut that killed and injured many,” his office said in a statement.

The strike will add to persistent fears that the nearly three-month-old Israeli war in gaza could become a wider conflagration.

Qatar-based Hamas chief Ismail Han­iyeh, speaking on Tuesday before Aruri’s death, said Israeli prisoners would only be freed “on terms set by the resistance”.

Aruri, who lived in exile, is accused by Israel of masterminding numerous attacks. He was elected deputy to Haniyeh in 2017, before being officially named the group’s number two.

In October the Israeli army demolished Aruri’s home in the occupied West Bank.

Intense bombardment

Over the last 24 hours, the health ministry in Gaza confirmed that 207 Palestinians lost their lives in 15 Israeli attacks, while an additional 338 individuals sustained injuries in incidents reported on Tuesday.

The overall death toll from Israeli bombing of the besieged enclave now stands at 22,185 — including 9,100 children — and 57,000 injured.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that a strike by the Israeli army on its Khan Younis headquarters resulted in the death of at least five displaced Pales­tinians. Simultaneously, Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank have claimed the lives of at least five more Palestinians, Al-Jazeera reported.

Separately, Israel announced the death of a Palestinian prisoner, who was in their custody since October 7, the seventh such incident reported. Palestinian groups have condemned the incident as an “assassination.”

Al Jazeera described a period of “intense bombardment” in both central and southern areas of Gaza throughout Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday.

Israeli forces targeted a residence in the central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah, resulting in a significant number of casualties, with the majority being women and children, Palestinian outlet Wafa News Agency reported.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2024