BEIRUT, NEW YORK — An explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, killing according to multiple reports Saleh Arouri, the deputy political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The explosion took place around 5:45 pm local time in the Mashrifiyah area in the Dahieh district, south of Beirut. Videos showed large impact on cars and residential buildings.
Sources told the local LBCI news outlet that the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau Saleh al-Arouri was killed in the explosion.
The official National News Agency said the explosion targeted a Hamas office in Mashrifiyah, leaving three people dead. The Washington Post quoted a Hezbollah spokesperson saying that the headquarters of a Palestinian official was targeted in Dahieh where Mashrifiyah is. The area also hosts Hezbollah’s headquarters.
The US Treasury Department added Arouri to its terrorism blacklist in 2015, and the State Department had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on his whereabouts.
#BREAKING reports are that the explosion may have been caused by a drone attack – a residential building was impacted as well. No official confirmation of causes yet #Beirut #Beirutexplosion #Lebanon Videos via social media pic.twitter.com/K6ds8evH3D
— Maha Yahya (@mahamyahya) January 2, 2024
The explosion came as tension escalated on the border between Israel and Lebanon’s juggernaut militant group Hezbollah. Israel carried out strikes in Syria and Lebanon overnight on Tuesday that it said had targeted Hezbollah infrastructure.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
