We can infer that it was Israel that took out Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri and several of his Hamas colleagues this past Tuesday evening. JNS reports that Arouri “was one of the top Hamas leaders on Israel’s target list following the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre.”

The Jerusalem Post has details of the strike here. Arouri was hit by precision guided missiles that struck the Hamas office in Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold. The missiles appear to have left the rest of the building more or less untouched (photo below).

The strike seems to me to send a number of messages. Among them: Israel has impressive intelligence on the location of Hamas officials and intends to use it. If you are a Hamas official, they are coming after you. Hezbollah is not a deterrent. Iran is not a deterrent. As always, Israeli military forces seek to minimize damage to bystanders and noncombatants. The presence of innocents is a deterrent and the Hamas way of war intentionally places them in harm’s way.