Report: Israeli Spies Killed Hamas, Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanon

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.¹
• 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.¹
• To assassinate Arouri, a senior Hamas official, Lebanese officials claim that Israel recruited local agents — allegedly via a digital tourism company that likely acted as a front for Israeli intelligence — two weeks beforehand to survey the Hamas office at which Arouri was eventually killed.¹
• The report also alleged that because Hezbollah has repeatedly called for residents of south Lebanon to turn off their security cameras and mobile phones, Israel has also used local informants to track and assassinate the militant group's commanders.¹
• Arrests of alleged spies and informants are not uncommon in Lebanon, and the details of these cases are rarely fully released to the public. Israel also rarely, if ever, comments on these allegations.²
• Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah broke out shortly after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack against Israel. Since then, the border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire.³

Sources: ¹The National, ²The Times of Israel and ³Jerusalem Post.

Narratives

• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. 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, as provided by Al Jazeera. 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.

Predictions