Hamas Chief Killed By Israeli Airstrike. US Rejects Israeli Minister's Remark On Mass Displacement Of Palestinians (X image @ imMAK02)
Israeli airstrike killed deputy chief of Hamas’ polit bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, who was living in an exile in Lebanon, after serving 15 years in Israeli prison. He was killed in a drone strike in Beirut. The alleged targeted assassination of the Hamas leader is expected to have major implications on the ongoing war in the region. Hamas called the incident a “treacherous Zionist strike”. Izzat al-Sharq, Hamas politburo member called the incident a “cowardly assassination”. Israel did not claim responsibility of the killing. Al Jazeera said that the Israeli government officials have reportedly ordered to remain silent on the subject.
In a message on its official Telegram channel, Hamas said, other leaders of the group, named Samir Findi Abu Amer and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar, who were leaders of Al-Qassam Brigades, armed wing of Hamas, were also killed. Other four members of the group were also reported to be killed. Senior political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in a televised remark said that Hamas “will never be defeated”.
An adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, Mark Regev, told MSNBC, a US news channel, “whoever did this, it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state”. Najib Mikati, prime Minister of Lebanon said in a statement that the attack aims to draw his country into a “new phase of confrontation”.
Meanwhile, US State Department rejected Israeli Minister’s remark about replacing Palestinians from Gaza. Matthew miller, US State department spokesperson issued a statement on Tuesday that said, “there should not be a mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza”. He further added that “Gaza is the Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and no terror group able to threaten Israel”. He said it is best for the future that Washington is seeking for “Israelis, Palestinians, the surrounding region, and the world”.
The United States rejects the inflammatory and irresponsible statements from Israeli Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir. There should be no mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) January 2, 2024
Earlier on Saturday, Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister of Israel, said that the Israelis could “make the desert bloom” if only Gaza have the population of 100,000 Palestinians. The current population of Gaza is 2.3 million.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the destruction of Palestinian owned properties by the Israeli occupation force is increasing rapidly, in 2023 alone, Israelis has destroyed 1,128 structures in the occupied West Bank, which displaced around 2,249 Palestinians.
