Beirut strike fuels fresh Mideast fears
Killing of senior Hamas leader in suspected Israeli attack sparks protests, conflict escalation worries
The UN and France have called for restraint as fears of further escalation of the Israel-Gaza war around the region rise in the wake of the strike on a Hamas leader in Lebanon late on Jan 2.
Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, Lebanese and Palestinian security sources said, raising the potential risk of the conflict in Gaza spreading well beyond the enclave.
The Jan 2 blast shook a residential building in the Beirut suburb of Musharafieh, according to the Lebanese news agency. Hamas confirmed that Arouri, 57, was killed along with six other members of the group, including two commanders of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Kandice Ardiel said any potential escalation could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the Blue Line — the demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights.
“We continue to implore all parties to cease their fire, and any interlocutors with influence to urge restraint,” Ardiel was quoted by Lebanon’s NNA.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a call with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, urged Israel to “avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati strongly condemned the Israeli attack that rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut on Jan 2 while Iran also slammed Israel’s “despicable” move.
“The explosion is an Israeli crime that clearly aims to bring Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations
after the ongoing daily attacks in the south,” Mikati was quoted as saying in an Al Jazeera report.
Israel has long accused Arouri of lethal 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 conflict and the release of Israeli hostages.
Israel neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the killing, but its military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were in a high state of readiness and prepared for any scenario.
“The most important thing to say
(now) is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas,” he said when asked by a reporter about the reports of Arouri’s killing.
Hamas announced a freeze on cease-fire negotiations with Israel after the killing, a Palestinian source told Xinhua News Agency. “We have informed the brothers in Qatar and Egypt of the freezing of negotiations,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Qatar and Egypt have been mediating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
In a statement, Hamas slammed the attack as a “barbaric and heinous” terrorist act, a violation of Lebanon’s
sovereignty, and an expansion of Israeli aggression against Palestine and its people. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the Palestinian group was “more powerful and determined” following the attack. “They left behind them strong men who will carry the banner after them,” he said.
A general strike took place in the West Bank on Jan 3 after the deaths of Arouri and some other Hamas members in what is widely believed to be an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
The Fatah movement and other factions, which organized the strike, urged Arab countries and their people to take a “decisive and immediate stance” against the killing of Arouri and others.
The Gaza health ministry said the total recorded Palestinian death toll had risen to 22,185 in nearly three months of the conflict in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Houthi group in Yemen on Jan 3 launched missiles targeting a cargo ship in the Red Sea, the group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement.
The Houthi forces carried out an operation targeting the ship CMA CGM Tage, he said in a live broadcast aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
“The operation came after the ship’s crew refused to respond to calls from our forces, including fiery warning messages,” he said.
The Houthi group will continue to prevent Israeli ships or those heading to Israel from navigating in the Red Sea and Arab Sea until food and medicine aid are allowed to enter the Gaza Strip, the spokesman stressed.
Maersk had on Dec 31 paused all Red Sea sailings for 48 hours following attempts by Houthi militants to board the Maersk Hangzhou. US military helicopters repelled the assault and killed 10 of the attackers.
The UN Security Council on Jan 3 started its first open meeting on the continuing attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
China is concerned about the repeated attacks and seizure of merchant ships in the Red Sea over a period of time, said Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN.
“China believes that all parties, especially influential powers, should play a constructive and responsible role in maintaining the safety of shipping lanes in the Red Sea,” Geng said.