The killing of Hamas' deputy chief threatens to expand war

Israel killed Saleh al-Arourin, deputy member of Hamas ... Palestinian group declared terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union through a fearful attack in the Lebanese capital, Beirut on 2 January, Lebanese and Palestinian sources said. Killing Hamas' number two increases the risk that the war in Gaza could spread beyond the Palestinian enclave.

Arouri, 57, was Hamas' first top political leader to have been killed since Israel launched air and ground attacks against the Palestinian radical group three months ago, after Hamas carried out a surprise attack in southern Israel on 7 October.

The heavily armed group in Lebanon, Hezbollah ally of Hamas since the start of the war in Gaza has exchanged fire on a daily basis with Israeli troops along Lebanon's southern border.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel against any murder on Lebanese soil, pledging a high return “”.

Hezbollah said on Tuesday it has targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of Marj. The attack, according to Hezbollah, took place after Arour's murder.

For a long time, Israel had accused Arowr of deadly attacks on its citizens, but a Hamas official has stated that he was also the heart of the <x0nd) negotiations conducted by Qatar and Egypt over the war in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it has killed the leader of the radical Palestinian group, but army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces are on high alert and prepared for any scenario.

The important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and we continue to be focused on the fight against Hamas”, he said when asked by journalists regarding the killing of Arour.

“Waiting for martyrization”

Israel had accused Arowr, Hamas' cofounder of military arm, or as otherwise known as al-Qaeda Brigade, that for years it had issued orders and supervised Hamas' attacks on Israel's conquered West Coast.

I'm waiting for the martyring [death] and I think I've lived a lot during”, he declared Aaruri in August of 2023, alluding to Israeli threats to eliminate Hamas' leaders, whether in Gaza or abroad.

Nasser Canaan, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, a state that is a powerful supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, said the killing of Arouri “would undoubtedly increase the resistance and motivation to fight against the exhumers [v.]. Reference to the Israelites was not only in Palestine but also in the region and among all in the world who seek freedom”.

Hundreds of Palestinians have protested in Ramallah and other cities in the West Coast to condemn the killing of Arour, cheering “revenge, Kasam!”.

The Huth rebels in Yemen, which are backed by Iran, have pledged that their attacks on ships on the Red Sea will continue until Israel halts the Gaza conflict.

The Huth rebels have warned that they will attack American warships if this group is targeted.

The Huth rebels have fired two ballistic missiles south of the Red Sea, even though it has not been reported for damage, the US Central Command announced late Tuesday.

The Authority for Marine Trade in the United Kingdom has reported three explosions near a cargo ship in the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, east of Eritrea, but has not reported damage.

The U.S. has earlier announced an international marine task force to protect ships passing through the Red Sea.

Al-Shifa Hospital

The Gaza War was sparked after the attack by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7th, where 1,200 people were killed and another 240 were taken hostage.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-led Gaza said 207 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, causing the total number of those killed during the war to reach 22.185.

Israel has said it is trying to avoid harming civilians and has blamed Hamas that its fighters are in countries populated with civilians, a charge Hamas has denied.

Israel's attacks at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza last November sparked worldwide outrage and concern over the fate of civilians and patients found inside the hospital.

Israel has said Hamas used tunnels under the hospital as his headquarters and used patients as shields.

An American official said on January 2nd, citing an assessment of US intelligence that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had used the al-Shifa hospital to command forces and keep several hostages. According to the American assessment, Hamas ' warriors had left the hospital before Israeli troops entered and conducted raids.

Israeli bombings have caused the Gaza residents to face a humanitarian disaster, while many are facing hunger due to lack of food supplies.

Hamas ' Answer to a Peace Accord Proposal

Just before the assassination of Arour, Hamas' leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who is also outside Gaza, said the group had sent its response to an Egyptian and Qatar ceasefire proposal.

He reiterated that Hamas' conditions are the “total” ban on Israel's offensive in exchange for further release of hostages.

Israel believes 129 hostages continue to be in Gaza, as some were released in advance during a brief ceasefire in November, while several others were killed during air strikes or evacuation or attempts to escape.

Israel has pledged to continue the war until it destroys Hamas, but it is unclear what it plans to do with the enclave if it reaches that goal and what will happen to the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.

In Washington, the State Department named “encouraging and irresponsible” statements by Israeli Government ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are assisting for the shift of Palestinians outside Gaza.

Such statements highlight the fears of some states in the Arab world that have said Israel wants to expel Palestinians from the land where they want to create their next state, repeating a massive Palestinian shift that had occurred in 1948, when Israel was created. /Reuters ʹ Prepared by REL/