Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said that Al-Arouri’s killing was a “terrorist act” and a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and an expansion of Israeli hostility against the Palestinians.
Interim Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion, describing it as a “new Israeli crime” and saying it was an attempt to drag Lebanon into war. His office said it had asked the Lebanese Foreign Minister to submit a complaint to the United Nations Security Council.
“Revenge, revenge”
Israel accused Al-Arouri of issuing orders and supervising Hamas attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for years.
Al-Arouri said in August 2023: “I am waiting for martyrdom and I believe that I have lived a long time,” referring to Israeli threats to eliminate Hamas leaders, whether in Gaza or abroad.
Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, a main supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, said that Al-Arouri's killing “will undoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and the motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers, not only in Palestine but also.” In the region and among all freedom seekers around the world.”
Hundreds took to the streets of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to demand revenge and chanted, “Revenge, revenge, Qassam.”
People gather outside a damaged building after a massive explosion in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.credit: AP
Hezbollah said in a written statement that the attack “will not go unanswered or punished,” adding that the resistance “has its finger on the trigger.”
Hezbollah has exchanged fire almost daily with Israel since Hamas carried out the October 7 attack, but the violence has been mostly limited to the border area between Lebanon and Israel.
Israeli airstrikes and bombing have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians since then, including children, the elderly, and several journalists. Two Australian brothers – Ali and Ibrahim Bazzi – and Ibrahim's wife Shorouk Hammoud were killed late last month in the city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah announced that Ali Bazzi is one of its “Mujahideen” fighters.
American criticism
In a rare public rebuke that highlights deep divisions between the United States and Israel over the fate of Palestinian territories, the Biden administration criticized two Israeli ministers over their call to resettle Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Tuesday that the speech by Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir was “inflammatory and irresponsible” and “must stop immediately.”
download
Miller added: “We have been clear, consistent and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas not controlling its future and with no terrorist groups capable of threatening Israel.”
The Foreign Office repeatedly rejected such calls for resettlement but rarely mentioned the ministers who made these calls by name.
Israel Haaretz A newspaper reported that Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security, called for a plan that would see Palestinians in Gaza emigrate to other countries. Smotrich, the Minister of Finance, had called for the construction of Jewish settlements in Gaza, according to what the newspaper reported Haaretz.
