BY Emma Emeozor with agency report
Israeli forces reportedly intensified bombing of the Gaza Strip, yesterday, and told civilians to leave a refugee camp in the north of the Palestinian enclave after the war stretched into Lebanon with the killing in Beirut of the Hamas deputy leader.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it killed Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday. But military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were in a high state of readiness and prepared for any scenario.
The assassination was a further sign that the nearly three-month war between Israel and Hamas was spreading across the region, drawing in the occupied West Bank, Hezbollah forces on the Lebanon-Israel border, and even Red Sea shipping lanes.
Arouri, 57, who lived in Beirut, was the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated since Israel began its offensive against the militant group in response to its deadly rampage into Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
Hamas politburo member Hossam Badran said in a eulogy for Arouri: “We say to the criminal occupation (Israel) that the battle between us is open.”
Israel had long accused him of orchestrating attacks on its citizens. But a Hamas official said he was also “at the heart of negotiations” conducted by Qatar and Egypt over the outcome of the Gaza war and the release of Hamas-held Israeli hostages.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was due to make a speech in Beirut at press time. Previously he had warned Israel against carrying out assassinations on Lebanese soil, vowing a “severe reaction”.
The heavily armed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israel across Lebanon’s southern border since the Gaza war began.
More than 100 Hezbollah fighters and two dozen civilians have been killed on Lebanese territory, as well as at least nine Israeli soldiers in Israel.
Following Arouri’s killing, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said it was deeply concerned about the possibility of an escalation “that could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the border”.
The Israeli military said in its daily briefing that “intensive battles” with militants were continuing in Gaza yesterday in the southern city of Khan Younis. It has said previously it is trying to flush out Hamas leaders in the area.
Residents and Palestinian media said Israeli forces bombed Al-Nusseirat refugee camp in the northern part of the Hamas-ruled enclave overnight and into Wednesday, destroying several multi-floor buildings.
Israeli planes also dropped leaflets on Al-Nusseirat ordering people to leave seven districts.