Israel killed top Hamas Commander in drone strike in south Beirut

Senior Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri was among at least six people killed on Tuesday night in a suspected Israeli drone strike in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.

Arouri, 57, was a member of the militant group’s politburo and one of the founders of its military wing, the Qassam Brigades. Last year the US offered a $5 million reward for information about him.

According to Arab media, Saleh Al-Arouri was number one in Israel’s hit list.

According to the Israeli media, the leader of Hamas was going to meet the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Before that, he had met with high-ranking figures including the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei.

A Lebanese security source told Arab News the drone strike had targeted a three-storey building in the Haret Hreik neighborhood that had Hamas offices on the second and third floors. “There is no building built above it, so it was easy to target from the air,” the source said.

Leaders of Hamas’ armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades, Samir Findi Abu Amer and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar, were also killed in the Israeli strike, Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV channel said on Telegram.