The death of Saleh al-Arouri, identified as deputy leader of Hamas, in an air strike linked to Israel carried out in Lebanon this Tuesday (2) was considered a “hard blow” for the terrorist group that controls the Strip. Gaza since 2007.
Al-Arouri was considered one of Hamas' “main strategists” and “diplomats”, responsible for planning attacks against Israel and strengthening the Palestinian terrorist group's ties with Iran and Hezbollah terrorists, who operate in Lebanese territory.
Saleh al-Arouri was born in 1966 in a village near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He has been involved with Hamas since its founding in 1987, inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Arouri was one of the founding members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and participated in several attacks against Israeli soldiers and settlers.
He spent 15 years in Israeli prison for his terrorist activities, and was released in 2010 as part of a prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas. Shortly after his release, al-Arouri was deported to Jordan, but had to leave the country after pressure from Israel against his presence there. He then moved to Syria, but also had to leave the country after the start of the civil war and the break between Hamas and the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.
After his travels through Middle Eastern countries, al-Arouri settled in Turkey and from there set up a Hamas headquarters in the West Bank, which was in charge of recruiting and training terrorists to plan attacks against the Jewish State. One such attack was the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank in 2014, which sparked a 51-day war in Gaza. Al-Arouri claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it “a heroic operation.”
In 2015, he was considered a global terrorist by the United States, which offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on his whereabouts. He has also been accused by Israel of plotting to overthrow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who rules parts of the West Bank.
In 2017, al-Arouri was elected vice-president of Hamas's political committee, the second-highest position in the terrorist organization. In this post, he became the Palestinian terrorist group's main interlocutor with Iran and Hezbollah, seeking to reinforce the financial and military support of those who are now allies of Hamas. As the terrorist group's number two, al-Arouri visited Tehran and met with the Islamic regime's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, to discuss “collaboration against Israel.”
Al-Arouri was very close to the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who is currently being hunted in the Palestinian enclave by Israeli forces. According to information from the American newspaper The New York Timesin recent years, the number two of the Palestinian terrorist group was living in Beirut, capital of Lebanon, where he served as Hamas “ambassador” to Hezbollah.
During the Hamas terrorist attacks carried out against Israel on October 7, 2023, which left more than a thousand people dead in the Jewish state, al-Arouri was seen meeting with Nasrallah and Ziad Nakhale, the secretary general of Palestinian Islamic Jihad , another terrorist group operating in Gaza. According to the The Timesciting information from the official Hezbollah agency, the al-Manar, at that time they discussed ways to coordinate terrorist forces to “achieve total victory and stop the brutal attack on the oppressed people of Gaza and the West Bank.”
al-Arouri's death could have an impact on the war
According to analysts, al-Arouri's death could be a risk for the escalation of the conflict that has been taking place in Gaza since the Hamas terrorist attacks. Representatives from Iran and Hezbollah themselves promised to “avenge” the end of the Palestinian terrorist and said they are “ready” for a possible conflict against the Jewish State.
In turn, Israel has so far not officially assumed nor denied responsibility for the death of Hamas' number two, however, information published by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal in early December, they point out that the Israeli government was planning to kill the terrorist group's main leaders living abroad.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday that his country would not comment on the case, however, he made it clear that Israeli forces are “prepared” for any scenario that may come. This Wednesday (3), the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevi, visited the border area with Lebanon.
Israeli forces are on the country's northern border at a “very strong moment of preparation”, troops in the area said, according to a statement released this Wednesday by the Jewish State Army.
The Israeli government accused al-Arouri of being behind the terrorist attack carried out against its territory, information that was corroborated by the United States this Wednesday. The US said the Hamas deputy leader killed in Lebanon was a “brutal terrorist with civilian blood on his hands”.
During a press conference, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller held the deputy leader of Hamas, as well as the Israeli government, responsible for the terrorist attacks carried out against the Jewish State and for involvement in other attacks against civilians. . The American government, however, did not want to comment on who was responsible for the attack that eliminated al-Arouri on Tuesday.
According to information from the The New York Times, al-Arouri's death could hamper Hamas' efforts to rebuild itself militarily with the help of foreign supporters, as the late number two terrorist was the one who helped channel the money and weapons so that the Palestinian group could operate in the Gaza Strip and other parts of the Middle East. The American newspaper also recalled that it was al-Arouri who integrated the terrorist group into the network of Iranian forces committed to the “fight against Israel”.
For Emile Hokayem, director of regional security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, “Hamas will suffer because it has lost one of its main strategists.” Hokayem pointed to the The Times that al-Arouri “managed political relationships well and had credibility as a commander” within the Palestinian terrorist group.
Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, also told the British newspaper Financial Times that al-Arouri's death was a “significant blow” to Hamas at that time, not only because of his role as one of the founders of the terrorist group's military wing, but also because of his ability “in terms of leading Hamas in West Bank.”
Hamas tried to minimize the impact of the loss of its deputy leader, stating that it will not be “influenced by the successive deaths of its members”. The political leader of the Palestinian terrorist group, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a televised statement on Tuesday that as in previous cases, al-Arouri's death “will not affect the 'march of resistance' and the fight against the occupation.”
According to information from the Financial Times, Hamas must “quickly” fill the role left by al-Arouri. Guy Aviad, historian and author of several books on the Palestinian terrorist group, told the British newspaper that “in Hamas, there is never a vacuum. Everyone, no matter how senior [eles sejam], have a replacement. We’ve seen this time and time again.”
information The New York Times point out that the Palestinian group actually has an “internal hierarchy” that facilitates the replacement of its leaders, and a popular base among Palestinians who support what they classify as a “resistance struggle” against Israel.
In addition to being able to be a point for a possible escalation of the conflict, the death of Hamas' number two outside Gaza could also mean at this moment that the terrorists of the Palestinian group, especially its leaders, can no longer operate freely in Lebanon, a country that it was being frequently used by the Hamas political office as a venue for holding frequent press conferences on the war. Furthermore, the attack raises a warning for terrorists, as they are no longer “safe” in the countries they use to seek refuge.
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