GAZA STRIP: Saleh al-Aruri, the senior Hamas official killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Lebanon, played a key role in building up the Palestinian group’s military capabilities and its links with regional allies.
Aruri, 57, was one of the founders of the Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in the early 1990s.
More recently, he was the “channel or link” between the Hamas movement, Iran and Hezbollah, a Hamas source told AFP. He had regularly visited Iran.
Aruri was also considered the leader of Hamas in the West Bank, and the source said that his knowledge and expertise had helped develop the movement’s military capabilities in recent years.
Considered Hamas’ number two at the time of his killing, Aruri had been accused by Israel of playing a role in numerous attacks.
These included Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also took around 250 hostages back to Hamas-ruled Gaza, of whom 129 remain in captivity, according to Israeli figures.
After the attack, the worst in its history, Israel began a relentless bombardment and ground offensive that has killed at least 22,313 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Source: CNA
