- Iran condemns ‘despicable’ killing of Arouri, says it’ll ignite another surge of resistance against Israel
Senior Hamas military officials Samir Findi and Azzam Al-Aqraa have been identified among the five killed along with Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in an alleged Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Arabic media reports.
Speaking hours after the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas terror chief Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari opens his nightly briefing by saying that the military is at a “very high level of readiness — in all arenas, in defense and offense.
“We are in a high state of readiness for any scenario,” Hagari adds, without mentioning al-Arouri.
“The most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas,” Hagari adds.
Regarding the homefront, he urges the public to continue to act responsibly and follow the Homefront Command’s lifesaving instructions.
Asked directly by a reporter whether he anticipates fire on central Israel or on the northern city of Haifa in the wake of al-Arouri’s killing, Hagari says: “I’m not referring to what’s been said here [by the reporter] and in other places. We are focused on fighting Hamas. We have been from the start, and we will continue to be.”
Israel has issued no official response to the killing in a Beirut suburb of the Hamas leader.
Israel is anticipating a response to the alleged assassination of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon, according to Hebrew-language media reports.
The Walla news site and Channel 13 news say that Israel expects a retaliation, including possible long-range rocket fire on Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Foreign Media Spokesperson Mark Regev is asked during an MSNBC interview about the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon.
While stammering significantly in his answer, Regev stresses that the strike only targeted Hamas officials in an apparent attempt to coax Hezbollah into limiting its response.
“Obviously in Lebanon, there are many Hezbollah targets, but whoever did this strike was very surgical and went for a Hamas target because Israel is at war… Whoever did this has a gripe with Hamas,” Regev says.
“Whoever did this, it’s not an attack on the Lebanese state. It’s not an attack on the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Whoever did this, it’s an attack on Hamas, that’s very clear,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemns Israel’s “despicable” killing of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri near Beirut earlier tonight.
“The martyr’s blood will undoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and motivate the fight against the Zionist occupiers, not only in Palestine but also in the region and among all freedom-seekers worldwide,” Kanaani says.
And against the backdrop of the alleged assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri by Israel in Lebanon earlier this evening, a clip from an August speech given by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has resurfaced.
“Any assassination on Lebanese soil against a Lebanese Syrian, Iranian or Palestinian will be met with a decisive response. We will not tolerate this, and we will not allow Lebanon to become a new killing field for Israel.”
Nasrallah is slated to give a nationally televised address tomorrow.
