Israeli drone strike kills four Hamas members at terror group’s Beirut office – including founder of their military wing, who Netanyahu had vowed to kill
- This is a breaking news story, more to come
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An Israeli drone strike on Hamas's office in Beirut, Lebanon, has killed four people, including the terror group's deputy political leader, local media have reported.
āFour people were tortured and several others were injured when the Hamas office was targeted,ā the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said in Dahiyeh, an area in Beirut's southern suburbs and a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah .
Video footage of the aftermath of the strike shows a large fire on a nearby street, which is covered in dust and debris. Sirens can be heard and several cars can be seen with their windows smashed.
Parents were seen holding tight to their children as they tried to navigate the devastated suburb.
The exact death toll and number of people injured in the attack, for which no one has officially claimed responsibility, is currently unknown, but sources claim that top Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, a founding member of Hamas's military wing, was killed in the explosion.
Sources have claimed that Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, a founding member of Hamas's military wing, was killed in the explosion.
An Israeli drone strike on Hamas's office in Beirut, Lebanon, has killed four people, including the terror group's deputy political leader.
The office was located in Dahiyeh, an area in Beirut's southern suburbs and a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
After the drone strike, a huge fire was seen on the street
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference in November that he had “ordered the Mossad to act against the heads of Hamas wherever they are” following the terror group's Oct. 7 raid that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. were killed.
al-Arouri, 57, was deputy head of Hamas's political bureau and was considered the de facto leader of the organization's military wing.
The explosion occurred during more than two months of intense firefight between Israeli forces and Hezbollah members along Lebanon's southern border.
Since fighting began the day after Black Saturday, the conflict has been concentrated several kilometers from the border, but the Israeli air force has repeatedly struck Hezbollah targets deeper in Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out several attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border, targeting Israeli military posts.
The explosion occurred during more than two months of intense firefight between Israeli forces and Hezbollah members along Lebanon's southern border.
People search for survivors after a massive explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon
Clashes at the border between Israel and Lebanon have already displaced tens of thousands of people
Clashes at the Israel-Lebanon border have already displaced tens of thousands of people, despite Israel's earlier claims that it did not want to go to war with its neighbor.
But last month, Benny Gantz, a senior member of Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, said the situation on Israel's border with Lebanon “must change,” signaling an escalation with Hezbollah.
In November, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, referring to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, said: “When you hear that we attacked Beirut, you will understand that Nasrallah crossed that line.”
This is a breaking news story, more to come.