media reveals that Saleh Al Arouri was warned by Hezbollah against using targeted building
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Hamas’s deputy leader Saleh Al Arouri, one of Israel’s most wanted militants, left himself exposed in Beirut when he held a meeting with other senior Hamas officials in an office that his allies had specifically warned them against using, media has learnt.
The senior official and six others were killed in an Israeli strike on a building housing a Hamas office in the residential Beirut suburb of Dahieh, where some leaders-in-exile of the Palestinian group reside under the protection of the powerful Hezbollah party.
Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and others accused Israel of assassinating Mr Al Arouri to claim a much-needed victory against the armed group as its army struggles to defeat Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, despite relentless air and ground assaults that have killed thousands of civilians.
“Going to the building was a reckless move. He shouldn’t have gone there,” a senior Lebanese official told media of the night Mr Al Arouri was killed in the apartment in Dahieh, a southern residential suburb of Beirut.
Mr Al Arouri, who for years had been on Israel’s kill list and was considered one of the Middle East’s most wanted men, died in the suspected Israeli strike on January 2 along with six other Hamas officials. The deputy leader had been living in Dahieh since 2015.
A warning by Hezbollah against using that specific building had previously been delivered to him after the Iran-backed group came to suspect that its location had become exposed to Israeli intelligence.
“Hezbollah had even delivered a written warning” to ensure the Hamas office was not used, the senior Lebanese official with close ties to Hezbollah and Hamas explained.
Mr Al Arouri’s use of the office left him exposed to the assassination.
Additionally, the group of Hamas officials had brought their phones, putting them at risk of Israeli surveillance.
“Altogether, there were seven phones in that meeting,” the official with deep knowledge of Lebanon’s security apparatus added.
The office was also furnished with at least one computer with a Wi-Fi connection, potentially giving Israeli forces another method of locating the men.
“Once the laptop started, the strike hit the office,” said the official.
Asked if there were suspicions that an intelligence asset may have played a role in giving Israeli officials information about the meeting, he said that “the presence of that many phones is alone enough for Israel to pinpoint someone’s location”.
Hezbollah confirmed the information to media.
“We had warned them not to use the office,” an official for the Iran-backed party said.
It was not immediately clear why the Hamas officials would use an office that had been potentially exposed, or why they would bring mobile devices to the meeting.
media contacted several Hamas officials for comment but received no response.
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