Israel Captures Slain Hamas Leader’s Sisters in Lebanon

On Sunday, Israeli forces arrested two sisters of Saleh al-Arouri, a prominent Hamas leader recently killed in Lebanon, as reported by Palestinian sources and the Israeli army. Arouri, Hamas’ deputy leader, was believed to have been killed in a Beirut suburb on January 2, likely due to an Israeli drone strike, raising concerns about the escalation of Israel’s conflict in Gaza into a broader regional war.

The Israeli army stated that the sisters were detained in the occupied West Bank for allegedly encouraging terrorist activities against Israel, though specific details were not provided.

According to Awar al-Arouri, Arouri’s brother-in-law, the two women, along with other family members, have been placed under “administrative detention.”

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy organization, identified the sisters as Dalal al-Arouri, 52, and Fatima al-Arouri, 47, noting their arrests occurred near Ramallah.

The Israeli military had previously accused Arouri of being involved in planning a significant attack in southern Israel by Hamas on October 7. Since then, Israel’s military operations in Gaza have resulted in at least 23,843 deaths, predominantly women and children, as per the Gaza health ministry’s records.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reports that since the start of the Gaza war, 5,875 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank. Out of these, 1,970 have been subjected to administrative detention, a process that permits holding suspects without charge or trial for renewable six-month periods.

Israel defends the use of administrative detention as a means to detain suspects while further evidence is gathered, aiming to prevent attacks or other security threats.

Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has maintained control over the West Bank. Currently, around 490,000 Israelis reside in settlements within the territory, excluding annexed east Jerusalem. These settlements are considered illegal under international law.