Israel Acknowledges it Assassinated Hamas Leader in Beirut

The Shin Bet on Tuesday officially claimed responsibility for the assassination of former Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon.
Al-Arouri was killed on January 2, 2024 along with four leaders of the movement’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahiyeh.
On Tuesday, the Shin Bet officially took responsibility for his assassination in a yearly report on counter-terrorism operations over 2024, which the newspaper “Israel Hayom” described as an unprecedented year in its complexity.
The Israeli security agency said it foiled 1,040 major "terror" attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, 20 "terror" cells among Arab Israelis and 13 Iranian espionage plots.
The Shin Bet was also involved in three hostage rescue missions in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, as well as several missions to recover the bodies of captives.
In the Gaza Strip, the agency said that in 2024, its agents assisted in the detention of 1,350 Palestinians passing through army checkpoints, including 40 senior commanders, 165 suspects considered close to top officials, 45 involved in the October 7 attack, and 100 who are suspected to have information regarding the Hamas-held hostages.
It handled some 2,500 suspects who were taken from the Gaza Strip in the past year, of which over 650 were later interrogated by the agency. The Shin Bet says the interrogations led to “life-saving information” for ground troops in Gaza, and the targeting of hundreds of sites belonging to "terror" groups.
In Lebanon, the Shin Bet said it was involved in the elimination of 25 senior commanders in Palestinian groups, including Hamas, al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
In the West Bank and Jerusalem, the Shin Bet said it foiled 1,040 significant "terror" attacks, including 689 planned shootings, 326 involving explosive devices, 13 stabbings, nine car-rammings, two suicide bombings, and one kidnapping.
The agency added there was a drop of 40% in "terror" attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem in 2024 compared to the previous year.
The Shin Bet also said it was involved in dozens of special operations in the West Bank in the past year with the Israeli Army and police, including 10 to detain a suspect or eliminate a threat. Among the special operations include raids against "terror" operatives at hospitals in Jenin and Nablus.
Inside Israel, the Shin Bet showed that it carried out hundreds of operations that uncovered 20 "terror" cells made up of Arab Israelis. Five of the cells planned to carry out "terror" attacks with explosive devices or car bombs, the agency said.
Regarding the Iranian threat, the Shin Bet revealed that it had a record in the number of detainees in espionage-related affairs, with an increase of 400% compared to 2023.
In the past year, 13 incidents of Israelis allegedly spying or carrying out other tasks for Iranian elements were foiled, the Shin Bet says, with a total of 27 indictments filed.
The Shin Bet said it also carried out hundreds of “complex security operations in high-risk areas” this past year, including providing security for Israeli officials visiting the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria.
It conducted dozens of security operations abroad, including two special missions — for the Israeli delegation to the Olympics in Paris, France, and the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden.
The agency noted in its report that during the war there were five times more cyberattacks on Israel than in previous years.
It said that alongside the Israeli Army and National Cyber Directorate, the agency assisted in foiling some 700 cyberattacks, out of thousands of attempts by various adversaries.

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah group of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides late in November, warning of the consequences.
Katz said if Hezbollah does not withdraw from southern Lebanon, there will be no agreement,” and Israel will be forced to act.
The Israeli minister emphasized that Hezbollah has not yet withdrawn “beyond the Litani River” in south Lebanon, believing this would reduce the threat by about 40 kilometers from its settlements.
He added, "If this condition is not fulfilled, there will be no agreement, and Israel will be forced to act alone to ensure the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," according to AFP.

The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the Israeli-Hezbollah war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed, The AP reported.

Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline.

Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home.

Israel Acknowledges it Assassinated Hamas Leader in Beirut