Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to give a pre-scheduled speech on Wednesday, 16:00 GMT on the four-year mark of the killing of late Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.

Hamas reportedly froze discussions over a potential captive release deal with Israel following the killing of the group’s senior leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut on Tuesday, anonymous sources told Anadolu Agency.

“Hamas told mediators about its decision to freeze all discussions about a Gaza ceasefire or hostage swap with Israel,” the source told the Turkish news agency following al-Arouri’s killing.

Hamas confirmed on its Telegram Channel that al-Arouri was killed by a direct Israeli drone strike along with two commanders from Al-Qassam Brigades in the southern suburb of Beirut. 

The toll from the explosion reached six by Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s news agency.

Israel has yet to publicly claim its responsibility for the attack, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly instructed his ministers not to comment on the assassination, according to Al Jazeera.

Al-Arouri had contributed to the establishment of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, and was detained for 15 years by Israel before he was exiled to Lebanon.

The killing of the key Palestinian resistance figure comes at a critical time as negotiations over a possible ceasefire in Gaza and a new captive release gain momentum following an impasse. 

The talks appeared to be at a deadlock following the expiration of a week-long pause on December 1.

The mediation of Qatar — where a Hamas political office is based — alongside Egypt had resulted in the temporary truce that lasted between November 24 and December 1 following two extensions.

The pause led to the release of at least 110 Israeli and foreign captives from Gaza, according to a Doha News tally. As part of the deal, Israel released 240 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.

Israel believes there are 129 hostages currently in Gaza.

Egyptian sources privy to the latest talks told Al Araby Al Jadeed on Tuesday that Cairo told officials to “suspend” its participation in mediation talks.

“[Egypt] informed officials in the Israeli occupation government to suspend its participation in mediation between the occupation and the resistance factions, in response to the assassination of al-Arouri, in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut,” the sources told the news outlet.

An Egyptian source added that an Israeli delegation “interrupted a visit to Cairo” after its arrival on Monday for discussions over “an agreement on a new exchange deal.”

Israel has been rejecting all attempts at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and has persisted in its genocidal war on the Strip.

The Israeli occupation forces have killed at least 22,185 Palestinians and injured 57,305 others in Gaza since October 7, according to the latest figures by Gaza’s health ministry. 

The figure has likely gone up since its release on Tuesday afternoon, with Israel continuing its bombardment of the besieged enclave.

First Israeli attack on Beirut since 2006

The Israeli attack on Beirut is the first since the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon which lasted for 34 days, marking a major escalation in the current cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

Speaking to MSNBC shortly after the attack, Netanyahu’s foreign media spokesman, Mark Regev, seemed to not know who ordered the attack.

“Obviously in Lebanon, there are many Hezbollah targets, but whoever did this strike was very surgical and went for a Hamas target because Israel is at war. Whoever did this has a gripe with Hamas,” Regev said.

Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the explosion in Beirut, describing it as “a new Israeli crime aimed at inevitably dragging” his country “into a new phase of confrontation.”

“Lebanon remains committed, as always, to relevant international legitimacy, especially Resolution 1701. However, it is Israel that has breached and surpassed it, as it remains unsatisfied with the level of death and destruction. It is evident to all that the decision of war rests in Israel’s hands, and it is imperative to restrain and halt its aggression,” he said in a statement.

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to give a pre-scheduled speech on Wednesday, 16:00 GMT on the four-year mark of the killing of late Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.

The United States military had assassinated Soleimani in a drone strike in 2020 in Baghdad.