Who was Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas’ deputy leader killed in Beirut?

The Israel-Hamas war is likely to escalate even further after an Israeli drone strike killed one of Hamas’ most senior officials on Tuesday in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut.

The strike targeted an apartment in a building in a Shiite district of Beirut that is a Hezbollah stronghold, killing Hamas’ deputy leader abroad Saleh al-Arouri and six others. Hamas confirmed the death of al-Arouri, with Hamas media outlet Al Aqsa TV reporting that al-Arouri was “martyred in a treacherous Zionist airstrike in Beirut.”

The Palestinian militant group also called the incident a “cowardly assassination” by Israel, adding that attacks on Palestinians “inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance”.

While Hamas has confirmed their loss, Israel has remained mum on the strike. However, one Israeli and two US officials confirmed to Axios that it was Tel Aviv behind the strike that took out al-Arouri.

Now, as fears rise of an escalation in the conflict, we take a closer look at who was al-Arouri and what his loss could mean for the war.

Life and ‘crimes’ of al-Arouri

That 57-year-old al-Arouri has been taken out by Israel isn’t surprising. He was on Israel’s radar for very long; in fact, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him even before Hamas had carried out its daring and deadly attack on 7 October, killing 1,200 people.

Al-Arouri was the deputy chief of Hamas political bureau and slowly climbed his way up the Hamas ranks to his position today. Born in the town of Aroura in the occupied West Bank, he became involved in Islamist activism as a student at Hebron University in the mid-1980s. He joined Hamas soon after its foundation in the immediate aftermath of the first intifada and helped create Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassem brigades.

In 1992, he was jailed by Israel and spent almost 18 years behind bars. However, he later was released in March 2010 and through his astuteness, developed contacts throughout the West Asia region – from Syria, Turkey, Qatar, Lebanon and even Iran. In fact, in recent years, he has served as a kind of Hamas ambassador to Hezbollah and was also considered to being very close to Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza.

In 2014, al-Arouri was accused by Israel of planning the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank. At the time, al-Arouri had called the act “a heroic operation by the Qassam Brigades”. In the same year, Israel also accused the 57-year-old Hamas leader of planning to overthrow Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Three years later, a promotion came al-Arouri’s way and he was elected deputy to Ismail Haniyeh, the organisation’s leader.

However, he kept up his hardline credentials. In 2015, the US designated him as a global terrorist, offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest. Washington had accused al-Arouri of funding and directing Hamas’ military operations and also linked him to terror attacks as well as hijackings and kidnappings.

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He’s also been believed to have played a major role in the 7 October attacks; shortly before the attacks, he had met with Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, to discuss strategies for achieving “real victory in their war with Israel”.

A day after the attacks, al-Arouri had called them an “open battle aimed at achieving the “liberation” of the Palestinian people and their holy places. He had told Al Jazeera, “We have a plan for all stages of this conflict. Both in case of an Israeli request for a ceasefire and in case of a continuing escalation of the violence. We are prepared for all options.”

“We entered this battle not just for a few hours. We entered it knowing that there will be consequences, and we have no choice but to fight it to achieve our high goals,” he said.

And it seemed that al-Arouri knew that his time was limited. Last August, in an interview to Hamas’ media outlet, he had said: “I am not afraid [of] their threats to kill me…I have already lived more than expected. I feel I passed the age I was supposed to die…. When I die as a martyr, I will welcome it.”

Al-Arouri also played a key role in the hostage deal that Qatar brokered during which some 240 hostages taken by Hamas were released. A report in The Guardian said that al-Arouri’s role was said to be “indispensable”.

What al-Arouri’s death means for war

Al-Arouri’s death is a huge success for Israel, who has vowed to wipe out Hamas. However, there are concerns that it would cause a further escalation in the ongoing conflict, and also widen its scope.

As the Associated Press said in its report If Israel was behind the strike, it would be its first attack on Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. However, Israel has stayed mum on the strike with spokesperson Mark Regev telling MSNBC: “Whoever did it, it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.

“It was not an attack even on Hezbollah, the terrorist organisation.

“Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership. Whoever did this has a gripe with Hamas. That is very clear.”

Shortly after the strike, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stated that the targeting of al-Arouri in Beirut was a “serious attack on Lebanon, its people, its security, sovereignty and resistance.”

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He further said, “We affirm that this crime will never pass without response and punishment.”

Even Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, saying the “explosion is a new Israeli crime”. Taking to X, he wrote, “We call on the concerned countries to put pressure on Israel to stop its targeting. We also warn against the Israeli political level resorting to exporting its failures in Gaza to the southern [Lebanese] border.

“It has become clear to everyone near and far that the decision to go to war is in the hands of Israel, and what is required is to deter it and stop its aggression,” he added.

With inputs from agencies