Who was Saleh al-Arouri, the Hamas leader killed in Beirut strike? Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a drone strike in Lebanon's capital Beirut on Tuesday, Lebanese and Palestinian security sources said, blaming Israel for his death. Arouri was a co-founder of Hamas's military wing, the Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, and Israel had for years accused him of ordering and supervising Hamas attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.