Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 89?

The United States does not have any reason to believe that Israel assassinated Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, as he also clarified that his country had nothing to do with the killing.

“The US was not involved in any way and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous,” Miller said. “We have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion,” he stressed.

Hamas’s slain deputy leader outside of Gaza, Saleh al-Arouri, was the number one target of a special Shin Bet unit established to target Hamas operatives abroad, Walla! military correspondent Amir Bohbot reported Wednesday morning.

Writing on X, Bohbot wrote that the Israel Security Agency has become more active in Israel's general operation against the Hamas terrorist organization, be it in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, or abroad.

"Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar recently spoke on the issue of expanding the responsibilities [of the Shin Bet]...and the security agency's intent to reach all Hamas leaders anywhere in the world, including in Lebanon.

The IDF has thus far denied responsibility for the Beirut assassination, which killed five other people in addition to al-Arouri. On Tuesday, in response to a question about the assassination, IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari stressed that he would not be addressing the reports, adding: "We are focused on fighting Hamas."

הארגוני שעשה, הוקמה חטיבה שעוסקת בסיכול מפקדות חמאס בחול שייעודה לאסוף ולסכל את הפעילות והפעילים של חמאס בחול. אל ערורי היה קליינט מס 1 שלהם. בכלל, שב"כ בשנתיים האחרונות היה זה שדחף לטפל ולפעול מול חמאס לבנון.

— Amir Bohbot אמיר בוחבוט (@amirbohbot) January 3, 2024

Members of civil defence stand at the site of an explosion, in what security sources say is an Israeli drone strike, in Beirut, Lebanon January 2, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)

Israel allegedly targeted a Hamas head in Lebanon two months ago

However, Bohbot wrote, this is not the first allegedly Shin Bet-led assassination of a Hamas official in Lebanon.

Earlier in November, it was reported that Khalil Hamed al-Kharraz, the deputy head of Hamas's Qassam Brigades in Lebanon, was killed "by the treacherous Zionist hand in southern Lebanon," a statement of the brigades said. 

The killing, which the IDF also did not take responsibility for, is part of a long-term vision of the Shin Bet head to target Hamas's heads in Lebanon.

Combat soldiers uncovered a tunnel shaft and photographs of weapons inside a school in the Khirbat Ikhza'a area of the Gaza Strip, the IDF said Wednesday morning.

This is a developing story.

Mehdi Hasan took to X, shortly after Israel allegedly eliminated Hamas deputy head Saleh al-Arouri in an airstrike on Lebanon on January 2, to claim that there is a double standard in which countries are allowed to eliminate threats in other nation’s territories. 

“Ever since 9/11, we have just taken it for granted that certain countries can send drones or bombs into foreign sovereign countries, across national borders, to kill people they’ve decided – without an arrest or trial – are guilty of crimes,” Hasan wrote. “Wonder how Americans would react if the Cubans sent drones to take out people they consider to be terrorists hiding out in Florida."

Ever since 9/11, we have just taken it for granted that certain countries can send drones or bombs into foreign sovereign countries, across national borders, to kill people they’ve decided, without an arrest or trial, are guilty of crimes.

But most other countries can’t do this.

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 2, 2024

“The US shelters a bunch of people wanted for or accused of war crimes and terror around the world. But hey, our sovereignty is non-negotiable!"

Wonder how Americans would react if the Cubans sent drones to take out people they consider to be terrorists hiding out in Florida.

The U.S. shelters a bunch of people wanted for or accused of war crimes and terror around the world.

But hey, our sovereignty is non-negotiable!

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 2, 2024

“This tweet has triggered a few folks, including Islamophobes who want to accuse all Muslims of being Hamas. I have condemned Hamas’s crimes since Oct 7th & before; the issue here is not Hamas, but why it’s ok for some countries to do drone strikes on enemies abroad but not others.”

This tweet has triggered a few folks, including Islamophobes who want to accuse all Muslims of being Hamas. I have condemned Hamas’s crimes since Oct 7th & before; the issue here is not Hamas, but why it’s ok for some countries to do drone strikes on enemies abroad but not others

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 2, 2024

While Hasan only mentions the conflict between Israel and Hamas and that of the United States and Cuba, a number of countries conduct airstrikes in foreign territories. For example, Turkey has regularly targeted Kurdish groups, which it considers terrorist groups, in Iraq. Additionally, both the US and Russia have conducted airstrikes in Syria against ISIS forces. 

Additionally, Hezbollah has repeatedly fired rockets and drones into Israel’s national territory, which further complicates understanding on who Hasan is referring to in his comment “why it’s ok for some countries to do drone strikes on enemies abroad but not others.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused two million Palestinians living in Gaza of having a "desire to slaughter, rape, and murder Jews," in a defense of Palestinian displacement against US backlash on Wednesday morning.

The US State Department on Tuesday slammed recent statements from Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir that advocated for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza, calling the rhetoric "inflammatory and irresponsible."

The finance minister, one of the senior figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, had called on Sunday for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged enclave, making way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom.

Smotrich reacted to the statement on Wednesday morning, claiming that "70% of Israelis today support the humanitarian solution of encouraging emigration of Gazans.

"A small country such as ours cannot allow itself a reality in which a hotbed for hate and terror exists four minutes from our communities," Smotrich wrote. "Two million people wake up every morning with a desire to destroy the State of Israel and slaughter, rape, and murder Jews."

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.

Sirens sounded in the Gaza border area in southern Israel on Wednesday morning.

 The US State Department on Tuesday slammed recent statements from Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir that advocated for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza, calling the rhetoric "inflammatory and irresponsible."

Finance Minister Smotrich, one of the senior figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, had called on Sunday for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged enclave, making way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom.

“Let’s think out of the box,” urged Smotrich. “If in Gaza there will be 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs and not 2 million the entire conversation on ‘the day after’ will look different,” he said.

Ben-Gvir: Israel not another star on US flag

Ben-Gvir defended his comments in a reaction to the American statement late on Tuesday on X, writing that the government "will do what is best for the State of Israel.

"I deeply appreciate the United States of America, but with all due respect, we are not just another star on the American flag," Ben-Gvir wrote. "The US is a close ally, but above all else, we will do what is best for the State of Israel."

מעריך מאוד את ארצות הברית של אמריקה אבל עם כל הכבוד אנחנו לא עוד כוכב בדגל האמריקאי. ארצות הברית היא ידידתנו הטובה אך לפני הכל נעשה מה שטוב למדינת ישראל: הגירת מאות אלפים מעזה תאפשר לתושבי העוטף לחזור הביתה ולחיות בביטחון ותשמור על חיילי צה"ל.

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) January 2, 2024

The national security minister continued, arguing that the "emigration of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will allow the residents of the Gaza border communities to return home with security."

Ben-Gvir added that the move will also "protect IDF soldiers."

Hamas terrorists took measures to prepare for the IDF's November raid of Shifa Hospital in Gaza, by destroying documents and transferring hostages to an alternate location, according to intelligence documents obtained by the New York Times.

The report said that US intelligence found that Hamas destroyed technology and documents crucial to the organization's operation, with Shifa hospital as a home base. 

US intelligence sources emphasized that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad used the hospital as a command center for terrorists in the field fighting against Israeli forces. This intelligence assessment was conducted after Israel insisted that Hamas had built a huge military compound under the hospital, which, according to the report, had become a "legitimate military target for Israel."

Hostages not located, but remains found nearby

While inside the hospital complex, the IDF did not find hostages but did find an arsenal of weapons behind medical equipment. Hostages were not located in the complex, but the bodies of two murdered hostages were found surrounding the complex.

The IDF's findings in the Shifa hospital grounds indicated use of the space as a military compound, uncovering meters of tunnels complete with living rooms, kitchenettes, toilets, and other infrastructure.

The route of the tunnel that was revealed after the shaft seen in the photographs published by the IDF spokesperson, passes under the building of the Qatari hospital located in the Shifa complex and is paved with electricity and communication infrastructure throughout.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian responded to the killing of Saleh al-Arouri on X early Wednesday morning.

The foreign minister said that it was a "terrorist act that proves that Israel has not achieved its goals in Gaza despite America's support."

He added, "Such a cowardly terrorist operation proves that the Zionist regime has not achieved any of its goals after weeks of war crimes, genocide, and destruction in Gaza and the West Bank of Palestine, despite the direct support of the White House."
 

Pro-Iranian media in the Middle East have reacted to the killing of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri. The reactions run the gamut from claims that the killing will not go “unpunished” to claims that Hamas “resistance” will not be impacted.

Al-Mayadeen, for instance, has seven articles on the killing. One article looks at who Arouri was before he was killed. It noted he was born in 1966 and detained in the 1990s by Israel. He eventually left prison and migrated to Turkey, before moving to Qatar and Lebanon.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has reacted by saying Hamas "will never be defeated.” Haniyeh has also called the killing a “terrorist” act of “aggression” and claims it expands the conflict. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 massacring more than 1,000 people.

Another article at Al-Mayadeen focuses on the Hezbollah response. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that this “assassination” will not go “unpunished.” In Yemen, the Houthis, who have been attacking ships in the Red Sea also claimed that the killing will make their attacks “stronger.” In Gaza, Hamas continues to brag that it is fighting Israel and claims continued successes in battles in Khan Yunis and Al Bureij. According to Al-Mayadeen, there will be a general strike in the West Bank on Wednesday due to the killing of Arouri.