The Hezbollah movement in Lebanon announced that the Israeli killing of Hamas deputy head Saleh Arouri in Beirut will not go unanswered and unpunished, reports Anadolu.
The statement said that this murder, committed in the center of Beirut, represents a “serious attack on Lebanon, its people, security and sovereignty” and that it is a “dangerous political and security message.”
“Our resistance is steadfast and loyal to the principles it undertook. The fighters are in the highest readiness,” the statement said, stressing that “the crime of assassinating Arouri and his friends will never go unpunished.”
An Israeli drone attack in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday killed at least six people, including the deputy leader of Hamas, Saleh Arouri.
The Palestinian group Hamas confirmed the killing of Arouri in Beirut, as well as two commanders of its armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigade.
Lebanon’s National News Agency earlier reported that Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a Hamas office in Mecherfeh, south of Beirut. The agency reported that at least six people were killed in the attack.
Arouri is the most senior Hamas leader to be killed by Israel since the conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army refused to comment on the killing of the deputy head of Hamas in Beirut.
“The army is on very high alert on all fronts, defensively and offensively. We are fully prepared for any scenario,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari at a press conference, adding that “the most important thing is to focus on the fight against Hamas.”
Tensions flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid occasional exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
The tension came amid an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have been killed and 57,035 injured since then, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
He believes nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack.
