Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas and two other senior leaders of the organisation’s armed wing have been killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, the group said on its official Telegram website.

According to the New York Times, the blast occurred during a meeting between Palestinian factions at a Hamas office in Beirut, an incident Hamas described as a “Zionist raid” on the country’s capital.

Meanwhile, there is no official statement from Israel confirming if it was their operation. However, local media, the Times of Israel, reported that a U.S. defence official told The Washington Post that Israel was responsible for the airstrike.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas began late last year, Israel has carried out several airstrikes on Hezbollah outposts in Lebanon — the militant group is a major ally of Hamas and has carried out several attacks in Israel in the ongoing war. 

In a defiant statement, Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said Israel “will not succeed in breaking the will and steadfastness of our people, or undermining the continuation of their valiant resistance”.