Saleh al-Arouri, the second-in-command of Hamas, was targeted and neutralized in Lebanon. Arouri, a key figure in Hamas and a founder of its military wing, is the highest-ranking Hamas member known to have been killed since the beginning of the conflict with Israel. His demise may trigger a substantial response from Lebanon’s influential Hezbollah militia. The strike targeted an apartment in a building located in a predominantly Shiite area of Beirut, which serves as a stronghold for Hezbollah. In response, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has pledged to retaliate against any Israeli actions targeting Palestinian officials in Lebanon.

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that Israel had not taken responsibility for the attack and clarified that the strike was not aimed at the Lebanese state or Hezbollah. Instead, he characterized it as a precise operation targeting the Hamas leadership. While Regev reiterated that individuals who harm Israelis can expect the Israeli state and armed forces to pursue them, he stressed that this was a general statement of Israel's policy and not specifically related to the situation in Beirut, on which he declined to comment. He further emphasized that the attack's orchestrator clearly holds a grudge against Hamas itself.

Arouri, a co-founder of Hamas's military wing and the deputy head of its politburo, oversaw the group's activities in Judea and Samaria, as well as its fundraising efforts.