Calculating the Impact of the Drone Strike that Killed Saleh Al-Arouri

BEIRUT, LEBANON – JANUARY 2: Firefighters and civil defense are seen in a damaged building that was allegedly targeted by an Israeli drone strike on January 2, 2024 in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Shortly after the blast, Hamas confirmed the death of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of its political bureau and two other officials. An earlier report from Lebanon’s National News Agency said four people had died in the blast and alleged it was an Israeli drone strike. (Photo by Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images)

Posted: January 3rd, 2024

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – A drone strike that killed the deputy chief of Hamas’s political arm, Saleh Al-Arouri and five others in southern Beirut on Tuesday could increase the intensity of potential proxy attacks against the U.S. and Israel as the fourth anniversary of the U.S. strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, approaches.

Cipher Brief Expert and former National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Norm Roule told The Cipher Brief on Wednesday that “Arouri’s death will likely increase the intensity of these attacks. US military and diplomatic personnel will probably be on alert throughout the Middle East.”

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