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.

It 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."

Maher al-Taher, international relations spokesperson for the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, 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."

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."

Israel has yet to claim responsibility for the assassination. 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.

Newsweek reached out to Hamas for comment.

This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.