Hamas Leader Killed in Beirut Was Linchpin of Relations With Iran, Hezbollah

The killing of a senior Hamas leader in a suspected Israeli strike marked the biggest hit to the group’s top leadership in years, taking out a key player who was responsible for aligning the Palestinian militant group with Iran and its proxies.

Saleh al-Arouri’s killing in a Beirut suburb on Tuesday night is likely to hinder the group’s diplomatic efforts with key partners like Iran but won’t substantially affect the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, military analysts said.