Hamas leader, founder of military branch, killed in Lebanon by Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah media say

Israel killed Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas' deputy political bureau chairman and founding commander of the terrorist organization's military wing, in an airstrike in Lebanon, according to reports from both Hamas and Hezbollah media. 

Al-Arouri, who was considered the de facto leader of Hamas' West Bank military wing, was in the Beirut suburb of Mushrifiyah when he died, and five other people were killed in the explosion as well, according to the Lebanese government's National News Agency.

Israel has not publicly commented on the alleged strike as of press. In November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel's top intelligence agencies to hunt down Hamas leaders all over the world after the Oct. 7 terror attacks that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and kidnappings of 240 others. 

The building that was targeted in Lebanon housed a Hamas office, according to Al Jazeera Arabic, a Qatari-funded outlet.

Al-Arouri, 57, had spent years in Israeli prisons for his activities in Hamas, but was released in March 2010 as part of Israel's efforts to release kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. 

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