Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, was assassinated today in Beirut by a drone, according to reports in the Arab media. Ismail Haniyeh's deputy, al-Arouri, was responsible for terror activities in Judea and Samaria, where he was born and raised. On October 7, a video clip showed al-Arouri watching the massacre, welcoming the slaughter and praying with Haniyeh.
He was one of the founders of the military wing of Hamas and was arrested several times, spending years in Israeli prisons. After he was released in 2007, he moved to Syria and after the outbreak of the civil war to Turkey, where in full cooperation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he made Istanbul the base for Hamas activities.
Following the recent normalization between Turkey and Israel, al-Arouri left Istanbul and divided his time between Beirut and Doha. He received a message three months ago that he was a marked man when the IDF seized his abandoned home in Aroura and hung a sign that he house had become a Shin Bet base. The house was then destroyed.
Six people altogether died in the explosion in Beirut that killed al-Arouri. Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati described the assassination as an "Attack that is a war crime."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 2, 2024.
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