Israel-Hamas war: Strike in Beirut kills Hamas deputy leader

• Israeli drone hit Hamas office in Beirut
• Top Hamas official killed in Beirut drone attack
• 5 killed in Khan Younis hospital strikes

Lebanese media said on Tuesday that an Israeli drone had hit an office belonging to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the capital Beirut.

An explosion was reported in a southern suburb of Beirut that is believed to be a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Lebanese state media reported that four people were killed in the attack.

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Assassination of senior Hamas members in Beirut. The FO after FA moment.

An Israeli drone exploded at Hamas headquarters in Beirut, and 6 cars were liquidated.

This is the first attack directly in Beirut since the start of the war. It’s an unprecedented event that could lead… pic.twitter.com/aIgnibsgQh

— Olia (@oliaklein) January 2, 2024 >

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged rocket fire numerous times since October 7, sparking fears that Israeli military operations in Gaza could spread across the region. However, clashes have so far been largely limited to exchanges of fire over their shared border.

Hamas official killed in Beirut strike

The explosion in the Lebanese capital, which state TV attributed to an Israeli drone, reportedly killed top Hamas official Saleh Arouri. The reports were collaborated by a TV station belonging to Hezbollah.

Arouri was considered number two in the Hamas hierarchy and was one of the founders of the group's military wing. He had led their organization in the West Bank.

Israel has not yet commented on the strike, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already threatened to kill him before the war broke out in Gaza.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran and are considered terror organizations by Israel, the US and Germany among others.

Counterterrorism expert: Arouri involved in Hamas 'from the beginning'

Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counterterrorism Project NGO, spoke to DW about Saleh Arouri, a Hamas deputy leader who was killed in Lebanese capital Beirut.

Schindler said that Arouri was there "right from the beginning," having been radicalized in the 1980s, while studying in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. He went on to co-found Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades in 1988 and form a "personal relationship" with Yahya Sinwa, who leads Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Arouri was arrested by Israel multiple times and then released in 2010, then moved to Syria. After leaving Syria in 2012, he went to Turkey, then to Qatar in 2015, and then to Lebanon in 2017.

The Hamas official had served as the "quasi Hamas ambassador to Hezbollah and one of the key liaison individuals of Hamas to … Iran" while living in Lebanon, Schindler told DW.

Schindler said the Arouri's death weakens Hamas "to a certain extent," but does not "hamper the organization's ability to fight Israel [in Gaza]."

He said that Israel is the "most likely" actor to have killed Arouri, despite the fact that they did not claim responsibility for the attack. "As in the past… [Israel is] not going to admit to extrajudicial killings outside of the Palestinian territories.

Tedros: 5 reportedly killed in Khan Younis hospital strikes

The Al-Amal hospital in southern Gaza was hit by strikes on Tuesday, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The hospital in Khan Younis is run by the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). Tedros said the "unconscionable" strikes killed five civilians and severely damaged a Red Crescent training center.

"The attacks, according to the PRCS, killed at least five civilians, including a 5-day old infant," Tedros said.

"14,000 people were sheltering at the hospital in the besieged southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Many of them have now left, and those remaining are extremely fearful for their safety and planning to leave a place they had turned to for refuge and protection."

The WHO chief once again reiterated calls for an immediate cease-fire "including urgent action to ensure the accelerated and unimpeded flow of food, medical supplies, water and other essential items to millions of civilians forced to live in unspeakable conditions of hunger, disease spread, and lack of hygiene and sanitation."

US slams far-right Israeli ministers' 'irresponsible' comments on Gaza

The US State Department has urged two far-right Israeli lawmakers to "stop immediately" after they advocated for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the territory while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also said the fighting "presented an "opportunity to concentrate on encouraging the migration of the residents of Gaza."

"This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible," the State Department said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the government of Israel, including by the prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government."

"We have been clear, consistent, and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel," the US State Department added.