Deputy leader assassinated, Hamas suspends all negotiations, UN warns of "dark shadow" of conflict over Middle East

International media reported that on January 2, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, announced that its deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in an attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon.

Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was assassinated in Lebanon. (Source: Watan)

According to Hamas sources, Mr. Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

A senior security source in Beirut revealed that several of the Hamas official's bodyguards were also killed in the Israeli attack.

Earlier the same day, Lebanon's national news agency ( NNA ) reported that an Israeli attack on the office of the Hamas Islamist movement in the Lebanese capital Beirut killed four people and injured several others.

The attack took place in Al-Musharrafiya, in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh - a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah force.

According to AFP, Hamas said the killing of its deputy leader in Lebanon would not "weaken the brave resistance" in Gaza, where the movement is fighting Israeli forces.

Meanwhile, an unnamed Palestinian source said that Hamas had informed Qatar and Egypt - the brokers of the Gaza ceasefire - of suspending all negotiations with Israel aimed at reaching a ceasefire.

Israel has not yet commented on the incident.

In the wake of this latest escalation, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the “assassination” of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and warned of “the risks and consequences that may follow”.

Iranian state media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani as warning that the incident would continue to provoke resistance against Israel, while condemning the violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Meanwhile, alarmed by the assassination in his country, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack was "aimed at drawing" Beirut into the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Also on January 2, United Nations (UN) Deputy Spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino stated that the assassination of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon clearly showed the risk of the Gaza conflict spreading throughout the region as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had warned.

Ms. Nino said the UN called on all parties to exercise restraint and de-escalate tensions.

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