Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri, was murdered this Tuesday, the Palestinian group’s Aqsa radio reported. Three security sources confirm to Reuters that al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the suburbs of Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.

The attack, which has also left several injuredtook place in one of the offices that Hamas has in Mushrifiyalocated in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, as reported by the Lebanese news agency NNA.

The Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah has confirmed to Lebanese media that Al Arouri is among the fatalities. In addition to being the ‘number two’ of the political arm of the Palestinian militia, he was also one of the commanders of the military branchthe Al Qassam Brigades.

In Lebanon since 2018, Al Arouri has been detained in Israeli prisons for 12 years before he was released in 2010. He is credited with responsibility for several attacks against Israel from Lebanese soil. He has been one of the main intermediaries in the release of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.

A month ago, in statements to the Al Jazeera television network, he stated that the rest of the prisoners were soldiers or former soldiers and that they would not be released until Israel ended its attacks on the Gaza Strip.