People stand at a damaged building following an explosion in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, January 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Beirut, Lebanon 鈥� Lebanon鈥檚 Iran-backed Hezbollah group warned that Israel鈥檚 killing Tuesday of the deputy Hamas leader in a Beirut suburb they control 鈥渨ill not go unanswered or unpunished.鈥�
Hezbollah called it 鈥渁 serious assault on Lebanon.鈥�
鈥淲e, Hezbollah, affirm that this crime will not go unanswered or unpunished,鈥� the movement said in a statement that called it 鈥渁 serious assault on Lebanon鈥� and a dangerous development in the course of the war,鈥� the statement added.
An Israeli strike killed Saleh al-Aruri, deputy head of the Hamas movement, in a southern Beirut stronghold of Hamas ally Hezbollah, two security officials told AFP.
搁贰础顿:听Israeli drone kills deputy Hamas chief in Beirut
Hamas, at war with Israel in the Gaza Strip for almost three months, later confirmed Aruri鈥檚 death, which Lebanese state media said came from an Israeli drone strike that killed a total of six people.
Hezbollah has engaged in near-daily cross-border clashes with Israel since Israel鈥檚 war with Hamas began in October.
Last month, Iranian state media said an Israeli missile strike killed Razi Moussavi, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps鈥� foreign operations arm, the Quds Force, near the Syrian capital Damascus.
Moussavi was the most senior Quds Force commander to be killed outside Iran in four years.
搁贰础顿:听Israel-Hamas war misinformation is everywhere. Here are the facts
Hezbollah said the strike that killed Aruri was 鈥渋n continuation with鈥� the assassination of commander Razi Moussavi.鈥�
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to give a televised speech on Wednesday.