Israel celebrated the assassination of the Deputy Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, but did not officially claim responsibility for the operation that killed the Hamas leader in a drone attack in Beirut, Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also instructed Israeli ministers not to comment on the killing of al-Arouri, while attention turned to Hezbollah’s stance as the assassination took place on its territory and within its security zone.
Netanyahu's foreign affairs spokesperson, Mark Regev, declared Tuesday that the slaying of al-Arouri was not an attack against Lebanon or Hezbollah.
“Obviously, in Lebanon, there are many Hezbollah targets, but whoever did this strike was very surgical and went for a Hamas target because Israel is at war... Whoever did this has a gripe with Hamas,” Regev said during a media interview.
As the focus shifts to a previously scheduled speech by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday evening, Israeli media hinted at the “success” of the killing operation
Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Israeli officials as stating that the “assassination of al-Arouri is a qualitative and high-quality operation.”
According to Israel’s Channel 13, al-Arouri was scheduled to meet with Nasrallah on Wednesday.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed the view that “the fate of all enemies of Israel is destruction.”
Member of the Knesset for the Likud party, headed by Netanyahu, Danny Danon, congratulated the Israeli security forces on the assassination of al-Arouri, describing the operation as “successful.”
Israeli media reports that the Israeli government issued orders to its ministers, prohibiting them from giving interviews regarding the assassination.
In August 2023, Netanyahu threatened to assassinate al-Arouri.
Al-Arouri was accused of orchestrating a series of attacks carried out by Hamas in the West Bank in recent weeks and months.
