Israel-Hamas War: Who is next on Israel’s hit list?
Jerusalem PostJan 08
Report: Israeli Spies Killed Hamas, Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanon
Image copyright: Marwan Tahtah/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
The National published a report on Wednesday alleging that Israel had used spies and informants to locate and kill leading Hamas figures in Lebanon, particularly Saleh al-Arouri in January and Mohammad Srour in April.
According to Lebanese officials, Srour, sanctioned by the US in 2019 for his affiliation with Hezbollah and for providing financial support to Hamas, had been lured to the town of Beit Meri before being kidnapped, tortured and killed allegedly by local facilitators and Israeli operatives.
The Spin
Pro-Israel narrative
Though Israel, as a rule of thumb, doesn't comment on allegations of spy networks connected to it, Israel's enemies should remember the country has one of the strongest intelligence apparatuses in the world and is capable of neutralizing targets anywhere. Israel is very precise, and it only targets high-ranking terrorists who are responsible for killing swathes of innocents.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Regardless of what men like Saleh al-Arouri were accused of, Israel has no right to violate Lebanon's sovereignty so flagrantly. For almost all of Lebanon's modern history, Israel has disregarded international law in its constant attempts to sow discord in the country. Israel has an interest in keeping this war going, and the international community must do more to prevent it from further attacking Gaza and Lebanon.
Nerd narrative
There's a 1.5% chance that at least one of Egypt, Jordan, or Lebanon will be at war with Israel on May 31, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.