Who is Saleh al Arouri, the Hamas deputy assassinated by Israel?

Saleh al Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group's military wing, had been in Israel's sights for years before he was assassinated in a drone strike in a southern suburb of Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him even before October 7 surprise blitz by Hamas.

Israel had accused Arouri, 57, of masterminding attacks against it in the occupied West Bank, where he was the group's top commander.

In 2015, the US Department of the Treasury designated Arouri as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist", offering $5 million for information about him.

Some Israeli lawmakers celebrated the assassination while Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican, hailed the assassination of Arouri and called it a "very big deal".

Asked about assassination threats against him in an interview with Beirut-based Al Mayadeen in August, Arouri said, "It is not strange for us for the commanders and cadres of the movement to be martyred."

"I never expected to reach this age, so I am living on borrowed time," he said.

In the same interview, he threatened that in case of a war, "Israel will suffer a defeat unprecedented in history."

Arouri's life and history

Born in the town of Aroura in the occupied West Bank, Arouri joined Hamas and eventually went into exile, first to Damascus, where then Syrian government was a strong supporter of the group.

He resided in Syria for three years before leaving, living as a nomad between several countries.

He left in 2011 when Hamas split with regime leader Bashar al Assad, siding with the opposition in Syria's civil war.

He later moved to Lebanon in 2018 until his assassination on Jan. 2.

Arriving in Beirut, Arouri made few public appearances. Hamas was able to build up its political and military presence in Lebanon.

In early September, Arouri held a meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that was attended by Ziad Nakhaleh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, during which they discussed the situation in the Palestinian territories. A similar meeting was convened after October 7.

Drone strike

Since October 7, Arouri kept a low profile while others in the Hamas political leadership made frequent public appearances in Beirut, including in near-daily press conferences.

He was assassinated in a strike on an apartment building in the middle of Beirut's southern suburbs, a political and security stronghold of Hezbollah but also a densely populated urban area.

Hamas officials confirmed Arouri's death, along with six other Hamas members, including two military commanders.

A Lebanese security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the attack appeared to have been carried out by a drone that fired missiles into the building, targeting one specific floor.

The strike shook the surrounding area, shattering windows in neighbouring buildings and causing a fire on the street in the Musharafieh district.

Residents of the area rushed to the streets around the targeted building, digging through rubble and broken glass, looking for survivors or bodies.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene described seeing at least two bodies and other body parts scattered in the street. A witness at the scene, Abbas Ghannam, told the AP news agency that he had heard the sound of a drone before it hit.

"It was not a military jet; it was a drone. It has a low sound," he said.

'Harsh retaliation'

This could be the first Israeli attack on Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 that ended in a stalemate.

It could mark a major escalation in the war in Lebanon.

After Netanyahu's previous threats to Arouri, Nasrallah warned Israel not to target any Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian or Iranian officials in Lebanon, saying that would lead to "harsh retaliation" by the group.

Hezbollah said in a statement that the targeting of Arouri "in the heart of the southern suburbs of Beirut" constituted "a serious attack on Lebanon, its people, its security, sovereignty and resistance."

"We affirm that this crime will never pass without response and punishment," it said.

Nasrallah is set to speak on Wednesday, on the anniversary of the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a US air strike.

Israel has killed over 22,000 Palestinians so far in its brutal war on besieged Gaza and wounded more than 57,000 others. Some 7,000 Palestinians are said to be buried under the mountains of concrete and twisted steel of bombed buildings.