WASHINGTON: Israel carried out the strike that killed deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Aruri in Beirut, a US Defense Department official said Wednesday.
Aruri -- who died Tuesday in an area that is a stronghold of the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah -- is the most high-profile figure to be killed since the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza broke out in October.
"The strike was an Israeli strike," the official, who requested not to be identified by name, told AFP, without providing further details.
Hamas and security officials in Lebanon had previously accused Israel of killing Aruri and six others.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari did not directly comment on Aruri's killing but said the military was "highly prepared for any scenario" in its aftermath.
The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began when the Palestinian militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that killed about 1,140 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Following the attack, the United States rushed military aid to Israel, which has carried out a relentless campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 22,313 people, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Those deaths have sparked widespread anger in the Middle East and provided an impetus for attacks by armed groups across the region that are opposed to Israel.
Accused by Israel of masterminding numerous attacks against the country, Aruri was elected in 2017 as deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, officially becoming the Islamist movement's number two.
He is believed to have played a key role in honing the Islamist movement's military capabilities and building links with regional allies including Iran.
Hezbollah -- which has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel that has left more than 165 people dead in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally -- has warned that Aruri's killing "will not go unanswered or unpunished."
On the Israeli side, at least four civilians and nine soldiers have been killed, according to figures from the military.