Palestinian Fighters Warn Israel After Senior Hamas Leader Killed in Beirut

Armed Palestinian factions have issued a new warning to Israel in response to the assassination of a senior Hamas official in the capital of Lebanon as the war in the Gaza Strip rages on in the first days of 2024.

Reports emerged Tuesday of an explosion in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement engaged in cross-border attacks on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian campaign in Gaza. As unnamed sources appearing in Israeli and Lebanese media reported on the death of senior Hamas political bureau member Saleh al-Arouri, several Palestinian groups confirmed the news and threatened to further escalate the ongoing conflict.

"The cowardly assassination crime against Sheikh Saleh and the leaders of the resistance will not weaken the strength of the resistance, but rather will inflame it in Palestine and on all fronts of confrontation with the Zionist enemy," the Popular Resistance Committees, believed to be the third most powerful faction in Gaza after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said in a statement.

"The policy of assassinations pursued by the Zionist enemy against resistance leaders has proven its failure in undermining the resolve of our people who yearn to liberate their land from the filth of the Zionist enemy, no matter how great the sacrifices are," the group added.

The Popular Resistance Committees, whose military wing is known as the Al-Nasser Salah ad-Din Brigades, further warned that "the resistance will inevitably avenge the blood of Sheikh Saleh and for every drop of blood shed by our people in this open confrontation with the defeated Zionist enemy."

Arouri was born in the West Bank in 1966, one year before the Six-Day War would see Israel wrest control of the disputed territory from neighboring Jordan, eventually allowing for some areas of limited Palestinian administration as part of the Oslo Accords reached three decades ago. Arouri went on to become a founding member of Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, shortly after the group emerged in the 1980s and sought to expand its reach within the West Bank.

He was twice arrested by Israel in 1990 and 2007 and was believed to have later relocated to Syria, Turkey and, finally, Lebanon in 2015, the same year he was accused of playing a role in orchestrating a series of attacks within Israel and was designated a terrorist by the U.S., resulting in a $5 million bounty issued by the Department of Justice. In 2017, he was reportedly elevated to the rank of deputy chair of Hamas' political bureau.

Arouri's death would mark one of the most high-profile blows to the group's leadership structure since the current war began, though it was uncertain the degree to which his killing could affect the group's operations. Still, numerous factions backing Hamas quickly expressed their condolences.

Maher al-Taher, international relations spokesperson for the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, whose Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades is also involved in the fight against Israel, called the assassination "a crime that will not go unpunished" in a statement.

"This enemy will know that he made a mistake for which he will pay dearly," Taher said. "We say to all the free people of the world that the Palestinian people will not relent, will not retreat, and will continue to resist until their entire territory is liberated."

Palestinian Mujahideen Movement Deputy Secretary-General Salem Atallah mourned Arouri's death as well, and asserted that "the policy of assassinations will only make us stronger and more committed to our path until we sweep the occupation out of all of Palestine."

"The enemy will pay a heavy price for this cowardly crime and all the crimes he committed against our people," Atallah added.

Hamas, too, acknowledged the killing, sharing past statements by the late leader. Fellow senior political bureau member Izzat al-Risheq also criticized Israel's practice of targeted assassinations and vowed the group intended to fight on toward victory.

"The cowardly assassinations carried out by the Zionist occupation against the leaders and symbols of our Palestinian people inside and outside Palestine will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance," Risheq said. "It proves once again the abject failure of this enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip."

One Hamas spokesperson told Newsweek that "the Zionist occupation carried out the assassination and bears full responsibility."

Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the killing. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson told Newsweek that "we do not comment on reports in the foreign media," a standard response neither confirming nor denying Israel's involvement in alleged operations abroad.

The IDF and other Israel's intelligence agencies, including Mossad, have a long history of conducting high-profile assassinations deep behind enemy lines. Arouri's death came as Israel appeared to be shifting its tactics in its most intensive war to date in Gaza, which began with an unprecedented surprise attack led by Hamas against Israel on October 7.

As the United States openly called upon its ally to adopt a more targeted phase of the ongoing conflict amid mounting international pressure over growing Palestinian civilian casualties, the IDF announced Monday it would be withdrawing two brigades from Gaza this week, followed by three more at a later date.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has nonetheless continued to reassert his commitment to achieving a decisive win in a conflict he and his government have acknowledged could last for some time.

Mourning the loss of an IDF sergeant killed in northern Gaza, Netanyahu vowed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, "we continue until the end, until the absolute victory."

Non-Palestinian factions aligned with the Iran-backed "Axis of Resistance" that is opposed to Israel and the U.S. also reacted to Arouri's death on Tuesday, asserting their own determination to continue waging war on Israel and its supporters.

The political bureau of Yemen's Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, condemned the assassination, along with the deaths of two members of Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, stating that the alleged Israeli attack was "a violation of all international laws and humanitarian norms, and provides additional bloody witness to the level of Israeli brutality and barbarism."

Ansar Allah, whose maritime campaign against commercial vessels with suspected ties to Israel had drawn a U.S. military response off the coast of Yemen, also took direct aim at Washington, arguing that "the Israeli enemy would not have dared to commit this crime without American support and assistance."

With the explosion that killed Arouri taking place close to home for Hezbollah, the Lebanese movement extolled Hamas and other Palestinian factions taking up arms against the IDF, while issuing condemnation of Israel, which the group said "after 90 days of criminality, murder and destruction was unable to subjugate Gaza, Khan Younis, Jabalia camp and other cities, camps and proud villages."

Israel, Hezbollah asserted "is resorting to a policy of assassination and physical liquidation of all those who worked, planned, implemented or supported the heroic Al-Aqsa flood operation and contributed to the defense of the oppressed people of Palestine."

"The resisters in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran and Iraq only believe in their just cause and a firm and resolute commitment and determination to continue the path of resistance and jihad until victory and liberation."

A video statement issued later Tuesday by IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari made no mention of any operations in Lebanon but did acknowledge recent Israeli attacks on Syria allegedly in response to cross-border fire from another neighboring nation known to host militias hostile to Israel and supported by Iran.

"The IDF is in a very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defense and offense," Hagari said. "We are highly prepared for any scenario. The most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas."