‘Saleh al-Arouri is Hamas’s number 2’, Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem • FRANCE 24 English

‘Saleh al-Arouri is Hamas’s number 2’, Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem • FRANCE 24 English

We’re not hearing anything yet there’s been no formal uh acknowledgment uh but I have to say that at the beginning of this war after the 7th of October attacks Israel’s prime minister said that all the Hamas leaders were part of the targets after the events of October

The 7th uh and the brutal attacks of October the 7th and he named some and included Salah halari Salah halari is number two in the Hamas poit Bureau as they call it but I think that even that underestimates his importance he’s one of the founding members of the military

Wing of Hamas he spent um he’s actually from the West Bank originally not from Gaza spent years in an Israeli jail speaks Hebrew uh uh from that time there and set up set up this Hamas external Bureau once he was released from from um from jail he set up this Hamas external

Bureau he set it up in Beirut he moved Hamas there close to Hezbollah uh close to Iranian contacts as well uh and his I I cannot overestimate how important he is to Hamas how how um charismatic what a good operator uh in their terms uh how

Successful and how important he is so I would say that this is a huge blow uh and that although we have not yet heard from Israel I think that they if if it is indeed an Israeli a strike uh then I think they would be congratulating themselves yeah we’ve

Just heard from the Lebanese prime minister who’s condemned this explosion in dahia in the Lebanese Capital suburbs as a new Israeli crime um and I was just putting this question to rowad a second ago I mean do you think this does raise the stakes does this increase the

Chances of spillover would you say uh in the Gaza conflict really into Lebanon not just in the south of Lebanon along the border but really deeper into the country I guess it depends uh what kind of relationship I mean that the qu that the answer to that lies with Hezbollah

Uh and and Iran obviously but um it’s a his Hezbollah question and a Hezbollah answer because it’s up to them whether they say see this as an attack against them as well uh or whether they will continue with the line that they’ve had so far despite the massage escalation

We’ve actually seen on the northern border so Israel’s northern border living on Southern border we have seen um a continued escalation there but still neither side using the full force of its weapons uh and what heah Hezbollah was saying was this is not entirely our fight we’re supporting

Hamas will this assassination make them change that view uh I I can’t answer that but you know that’s that’s for Sheik Hassan Nala to answer but I think the next 24 to 48 hours will be extreme tense in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon okay well thank you very much

Indeed Eris mclair in Jerusalem thank you for bringing us uh the latest there

There has still been no formal acknowledgement of the assassination of Hamas deputy Saleh al Arouri from the Israeli government, says FRANCE 24’s Irris Makler. “Saleh al-Arouri is number two in the Hamas politburo but even that underestimates his importance,” says Makler, reporting from Jerusalem.

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