Senior Hamas leader killed in an explosion in Lebanon

A senior-level Hamas leader was killed in an explosion on Tuesday, reportedly the result of a targeted Israeli drone strike, according to multiple sources.

Israel allegedly assassinated Salih Al-Aruri, head of Hamas’ political wing and co-founder of the terrorist group’s military wing, in a suicide drone strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut Tuesday, three security sources told Reuters. The strike reportedly killed six people in total, including two other senior-level officials, in a Hamas office in Dahieh, an area widely considered to be Hezbollah’s stronghold.

Al-Aruri played a critical role in Hamas’ terror operations for decades and was a high-priority target for Israel and the West; he facilitated funding and weapons aid to Hamas in the West Bank and orchestrated the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in 2014, according to Counter Extremism. He was also running operations for Hamas in both Turkey and Qatar until he was expelled from both nations in 2015 and 2017.

The U.S. State Department offered a $5 million bounty to anyone who could credibly identify or locate Al-Aruri. The Treasury Department sanctioned Al-Aruri in 2015 for his role as “a key financier and financial facilitator for Hamas military cells planning attacks and fomenting unrest.”

Israel has not confirmed whether it was behind the strike in Beirut that killed Al-Aruri on Tuesday.

The incident could further escalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been in conflict along Israel’s northern border since Oct. 7. Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to give a public speech on Wednesday.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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