Thousands attend funeral for Hamas deputy leader in Beirut

Thousands of mourners have held a funeral for the deputy chief of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, and officials assassinated in a drone strike on Tuesday.

Following the funeral procession, Arouri and two Palestinians who were assassinated alongside him, were buried in a cemetery at the Palestinian camp of Shatila, amid throngs of mourners launching volleys of gunfire.

Arouri was assassinated in a drone strike on Tuesday in the southern suburb of Beirut, as he was meeting with a group of Palestinian and Lebanese men from factions allied to Hamas.

The attack was widely attributed to Israel which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip in a genocidal war, but the regime has neither confirmed nor denied that it assassinated Arouri.

Their coffins were draped in Palestinian flags and carried by men wearing green caps with “Hamas” written on the front.

Arouri, 57, was one of the founder of the Qassam Brigades before taking on a political portfolio in recent years.

He was seen as a key player in the movement, masterminding its operations in the West Bank from exile in Syria, Turkey, Qatar and finally Lebanon after long stints in Israeli prisons.

Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh said Thursday Israel’s assassination proved the regime is seeking to evade defeat and cover up its failure in the genocidal campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The regime has further revealed its criminal mentality by assassinating Arouri, he added. “If the enemy thinks it can make the Palestinian nation despair and surrender through terror, it is completely wrong.”

Haniyeh said the “cowardly assassination” was a “flagrant crime that demonstrates, once again, the brutality exercised by the occupiers against our people.”

The Hamas chief said Israel stands “responsible for any repercussions.” He said Arouri faced a host of challenges to revive resistance in the occupied West Bank at a critical time.