Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri has been killed in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, the Palestinian group and Lebanese media say.

Al-Arouri was killed on Tuesday in a “treacherous Zionist attack,” Hamas said on its official channel. Hamas Politburo member Izzat al-Sharq called it a “cowardly assassination.”

Al-Arouri was a senior official in Hamas’ political bureau but was known to be heavily involved in its military affairs. He previously led the group’s presence in the occupied West Bank.

Lebanon’s state news agency said the blast killed at least six people and was carried out by an Israeli drone.

Hamas promised that al-Arouri’s killing would not “undermine the ongoing brave resistance” in Gaza, where the Palestinian group’s fighters are battling Israeli ground forces.

“It once again proves the enemy’s complete failure to achieve any of its aggressive objectives in the Gaza Strip,” senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC that Israel has not claimed responsibility for this attack, but “whoever did it, it must be clear: that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state acted.”

“Whoever did this delivered a surgical strike to the Hamas leadership,” Regev said in an interview with MSNBC.

Lebanon’s prime minister condemned the killing and said the attack “aimed at drawing Lebanon further into the war between Israel and Hamas.”

“Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut that killed and injured many people,” his office said in a statement.

The attack “aims to drag Lebanon into a new phase of confrontation” with Israel, at a time when Hamas ally Hezbollah is engaging in daily cross-border firefights with Israeli forces in northern Israel, the statement said.

“Dangerous escalation”

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported from Beirut and said there was “panic” in the Lebanese capital following the attack.

“The targeted killing has given many people here in the capital the feeling that this conflict could expand and escalate, and all eyes are now on Hezbollah’s response,” Khodr said.

Iran commented on the development by saying that al-Arouri’s killing would further fuel resistance against Israel, state media reported.

“The martyr’s blood will undoubtedly ignite a further surge in the veins of resistance and motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers, not only in Palestine but also in the region and among all freedom seekers worldwide,” said the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wet Canaani said.

Kanaani also condemned the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by “the aggressive Zionist regime.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill al-Arouri long before Israel’s latest attack on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar told Al Jazeera that his assassination was a much-needed victory for Netanyahu.

Imad Harb, research director at the Arab Center Washington DC, agreed, saying Israel carried out the attack in search of an elusive victory.

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

Since heavy exchanges of fire began on October 8 on the Lebanese-Israeli border, fighting has been concentrated within a few kilometers of the border, but on several occasions the Israeli air force reportedly hit Hezbollah positions deeper in Lebanon.

Harb noted that al-Arouri’s killing was a “dangerous escalation” as it took place in Hezbollah’s area of ​​operations, far from the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Although Hezbollah will likely increase its attacks on Israel in response to the killing, it will not escalate the conflict into an all-out war, he said.

Meanwhile, mosques in Arura, the slain Hamas leader’s West Bank hometown, mourn al-Arouri’s death.

Protests and gatherings are also taking place in Ramallah and several surrounding cities such as Deir Qaddis.

A general strike was also called for Wednesday in Ramallah.