Suspected Israeli Drone Strike in Beirut Kills Senior Hamas Official
Lebanese media reports a blast at a Hamas office in the southern Beirut suburbs killed four people
by Dave DeCamp
Lebanese media is reporting that an Israeli drone strike hit a Hamas office in Beirut, killing four people, including a senior Hamas official. If confirmed, the Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital marks a significant escalation and could provoke a major war.
“Four people were martyred and a number of others injured when the Hamas office was targeted” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon’s National New Agency reported.
Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen reported that Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau, was killed in the strike and that the Israeli drone fired three missiles at the building.
So far, Israel has not commented on the attack, but Israeli officials are often ambiguous about their operations in neighboring countries. If confirmed, the drone strike would mark the first Israeli attack on Beirut since the 2006 Lebanon War.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since October 7. Lately, Israeli officials have been threatening more military action and hinting at an invasion of southern Lebanon if Hezbollah doesn’t move back from the border. In November, Axios reported that US officials were worried Israel was trying to provoke Hezbollah as a pretext for a wider war in Lebanon that could draw the US into the conflict.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as it develops