Al-Aroori is one of the founders of the military branch of Hamas, and some media have mentioned him as the number two member of the Hamas group.
The officials of Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon have said that Saleh Al-Arouri, a senior leader of Hamas, and three other members of this group were killed in an explosion that occurred on Tuesday, January 2 (12 Jadi) in the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
The Lebanese state news agency said that the explosion, in which a total of six people were killed, was the result of an Israeli drone attack. But the Israeli authorities have not commented on this matter yet.
If Israel is involved in this event, it may lead to an escalation of the war in the Middle East, because Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has warned that Israel will retaliate against any attack on Palestinian positions in Lebanon.
Basim Naim, a Hamas official, confirmed the death of al-Aroori in a conversation with the Associated Press.
The Hamas group has described Israel as “terrorist and treacherous” by publishing a statement on the attack that led to the death of al-Aroori.
Muhammad Ashtiyah, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, condemned the attack and warned of the consequences if it was carried out by “known criminals”.
Al-Aroori is one of the founders of the military branch of Hamas and at one time he was the leader of the military Hamas in the West Bank. Some media have mentioned him as person number 2 of the Hamas group.
Al-Arouri, who is in exile in Lebanon, has been accused by Israel of planning and carrying out several attacks on Israeli soldiers.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, even before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, threatened to kill al-Aroori.
The explosion occurred in the Mashrafe area in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah, a close ally of Hamas, has a large presence.
In October, Israeli soldiers destroyed Al-Aroori’s house in the West Bank.
The United States had set a reward of five million dollars for information leading to the finding or killing of al-Aroori.
After the attack of the Hamas group on Israel on the 7th of October last year, southern Lebanon has witnessed several exchanges of fire between members of Hezbollah and the Israeli military.
Hours before al-Arouri was killed, the Hezbollah group said that its fighters had carried out several attacks on Israeli military posts along the Lebanon-Israel border.