Arouri's killing: Reactions, risks and consequences

An apparent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut that killed Hamas' No. 2 political leader Tuesday, marked a potentially significant escalation and heightened the risk of a wider Middle East conflict.

Saleh Arouri, who was the most senior Hamas figure killed since the war with Israel began, was also a founder of the group's military wing. His death could provoke major retaliation by Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The strike hit an apartment in a building in a Shiite district of Beirut that is a Hezbollah stronghold, and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to strike back against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in Lebanon.

Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire almost daily over the Israeli-Lebanese border since Israel's military campaign in Gaza began nearly three months ago. But so far the Lebanese group has appeared reluctant to dramatically escalate the fighting. A significant response now could send the conflict spiraling into all-out war on Israel's northern border.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike was carried out by an Israeli drone, and Israeli officials declined to comment. Speaking to reporters, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari did not directly mention Arouri's death but said, "We are focused and remain focused on fighting against Hamas."

"We are on high readiness for any scenario," he added.

The killing comes ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, even as the United States has tried to prevent a spread of the conflict, repeatedly warning Hezbollah — and its regional supporter, Iran — not to escalate the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the assault in Gaza until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed, which he has said could take several more months. At the same time, Israeli officials have increasingly warned in recent days of stepped-up action against Hezbollah unless its cross-border fire stops.

BEIRUT STRIKE

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to kill Hamas leaders wherever they are. The group's Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 240 others were taken hostage.

Israel claims to have killed a number of mid-level Hamas leaders in Gaza, but this would be the first time it has reached into another country to target the group's top leaders, many of whom live in exile around the region.

Arouri was the deputy of Hamas' supreme political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and headed the group's presence in the West Bank. He was also a key liaison with Hezbollah.

Tuesday's blast shook a residential building in the Beirut suburb of Musharafieh, killing four people, according to the Lebanese news agency. Hamas confirmed that Arouri was killed along with six other members of the group, including two military commanders.

REACTIONS

Haniyeh said the movement was "more powerful and determined" following the attack. "They left behind them strong men who will carry the banner after them," he said of those killed.

Hezbollah called the strike "a serious attack on Lebanon, its people, its security, sovereignty and resistance."

"We affirm that this crime will never pass without response and punishment," it said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the killing and said it "aims to draw Lebanon" further into the war.

In the occupied West Bank, where the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported multiple Israeli operations overnight, AFPTV images showed scores of people in the streets of Ramallah to protest at Arouri's killing.

Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also condemned the killing, and warned about the "risks and consequences that could follow", his office said.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tuesday that the killing of Arouri "once again proved that straw foundation of Zionists is based on assassination and crime," Iranian media reported. He called it a sign of Israel's "heavy defeat" before Palestinian militant groups in the war in Gaza.

In a call with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz after Arouri's killing, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to "avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon".

Since the Gaza conflict began, Lebanese have feared their country could be pulled into a full-fledged war. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006, when Israeli bombardment wreaked heavy destruction in southern Lebanon.

WIDER CONFLICT

Israeli strikes in neighbouring countries on groups acting in support of Hamas have fanned fears of a wider conflict.

A strike inside Syria last month that was blamed on Israel killed a senior commander of the foreign operations arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, meanwhile, have also launched attacks at Israel and against cargo ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas, with the U.S. military assembling a multinational task force to protect the vital shipping lane.

The Houthis fired two missiles late Tuesday towards merchant ships travelling in the Red Sea near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the U.S. military said, though no ships in the area reported damage.

The French mission to the U.N. said the Security Council -- of which France and the United States are permanent members -- would discuss the Houthi attacks in a meeting on Wednesday.

Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has harshly criticised Netanyahu over the war, announced the detention of 34 people suspected of planning abductions and spying on behalf of Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

Erdogan weeks ago warned of "serious consequences" should Israel attempt to target Hamas figures living or working in Turkey.