Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV reported that Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy Hamas politburo chief, was assassinated in an Israeli drone strike in southern Beirut late on Tuesday.

The Lebanese al-Mayadeen channel also reported that al-Arouri has been killed. Reuters reported the deputy Hamas politburo leader was the target, citing three security sources.

Lebanese PM Najib Mikati said the killing of al-Arouri “aims to pull Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations in light of the ongoing daily attacks on the south of the country”.

Mikati also warned against “the Israeli political upper echelon resorting to exporting its failures in Gaza to the southern border to impose new facts on the ground and change the rules of engagement”.

The Iranian foreign ministry also condemned the “assassination” of the Hamas official by the Zionist regime.

Nasser Kanaani said the killing was a result of Israel’s “heavy and irreplaceable defeat from the resistance factions”.

The spokesperson added, “We condemn the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Zionist regime.” 

Meanwhile, Imad Harb, an analyst, says Israel carried out the attack in Beirut in search of what has become an elusive win.

“So far, the Israelis have not been able to call a victory in Gaza, so assassinating Hamas leaders is partly something that they wanted to do anyway,” Harb told Al Jazeera. “This is an achievement for the Israeli army and for the Israeli politicians.”

Despite the enormous firepower it has unleashed in Gaza, Israel has not been able to eliminate Hamas, kill the group’s top leaders in Gaza or free Israeli captives in the territory.

Meanwhile, UN secretary-general spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino said the situation is “extremely worrying”.

Soto Nino told Al Jazeera, “Because of the escalating tensions and the fragility of the situation in the region, we are calling for maximum restraints for all parties. We don’t want any rash actions that could trigger further violence.”