The United States has not yet confirmed the death of Hamas leader Saleh Allouri. He had been at the top of the Rewards for Justice program's most wanted list for several years with a $5 million bounty.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press conference Wednesday that the U.S. had no prior knowledge of the Beirut attack that led to Allouri's killing, and that the U.S. had no prior information about Israeli involvement in the attack that suggested Israeli responsibility. He said he had no information to do so.
Miller called Allouri a “brutal terrorist with civilian blood” and dodged questions about whether Israel was right to kill Allouri amid the ongoing war between the Jewish state and terrorist organizations. He said he would not comment on the impact of Allouri's death on future hostage negotiations because Hamas officials outside Gaza are in regular contact with leaders across the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill Allouri even before the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack from Gaza into southern Israel that triggered the ongoing conflict. The United States has marked Mr. Allouri as a “specially designated global terrorist” and offered a $5 million reward for information about him. The Rewards for Justice website had not been updated to announce Arouri's death as of Thursday morning.
Miller pointed out that Hezbollah is launching attacks across the border from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. It is not in Hezbollah's interest to escalate the situation.''
Far-right Israeli minister's comments on Gaza's future drew condemnation from the State Department
White House National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that the United States had not yet confirmed Mr. Allouri's death and that Israel was responsible for Tuesday's deadly attack in the Lebanese capital. He said there is currently no sign of any involvement.
Mr Kirby said “no one would shed a tear” over Mr Allouri's death if he was indeed confirmed dead. He also said the United States was not involved in the Beirut attack.
Top Hamas official Saleh Allouri was killed in an explosion in Beirut on Tuesday, according to Hezbollah media. (Reuters)
Biden faces growing enthusiasm from Democratic allies and far-left 'split' about Israel decision
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former National Security Council official, said it would be “a great thing” for the United States if the merits of Allouri's killing were confirmed.
Hamas announced that Allouri, the founding commander of the group's military wing, had died on Tuesday after the Beirut attack, which Israeli authorities say was not involved. Hezbollah-affiliated news outlets initially reported his death in the suburb of Dahiyeh.
The United States has not yet confirmed the death of Hamas leader Saleh Allouri. He had been at the top of the Rewards for Justice program's most wanted list for several years with a $5 million bounty. (Reuters Amr Abdallah Darsh/File)
“Frankly, if I were in the White House, I would issue a statement of congratulations instead of trying to distance myself and saying the White House has never tried to encourage this.” Goldberg told FOX News Digital.
“These targeted attacks help Israel restore deterrence in the region, and we will continue to see more such attacks,” Goldberg said. “The message Israel is sending here is that if there are Hamas operatives living in Qatar, Turkey, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the Middle East or North Africa, they are not safe. Their lives are not long. I think that means.”
Blinken ridiculed for boasting about Biden State Department's efforts to 'strengthen global peace and security'
“What we need to do here in the United States is … investigate and crack down on all Hamas networks in the United States, their financial networks, their supporters who provide material support,” Gold said. Berg said.
“We need the Justice Department and the Treasury Department to step in to disrupt the funding and political networks, just as they did 20 years ago when they went after the Holy Land Foundation,” he said.
A State Department poster asks for information about Hamas leader Saleh Allouri. (US Department of State)
The United States used reward for justice To mark high-profile terrorist targets, we typically offer $5 million for more valuable targets, but double that for the most important targets. The program recently offered a $10 million reward for information on five people identified as major Hamas financiers.
Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the lack of confirmation or certification from either the United States or Israel is likely intended to prevent escalation.
US-led coalition warns Houthis, vows 'consequences' for Red Sea attack
“I think the answer to this question lies in America's longstanding efforts to prevent the current conflict from escalating into Lebanon,” Schanzer told FOX News Digital. “Much of what the United States has done thus far can be described as a broad effort to contain a multi-sided conflict.”
“In other words, Israelis, or we believe they were Israelis, attacked Allouri in central Beirut. [which] “I think it was viewed as an enemy by Hezbollah,” he said, “and they consider Beirut to be their territory.”
This is a wanted poster of some terrorist organization leaders, including the recently deceased Saleh Allouri.
“I think Hezbollah is considering a very harsh response,” Schanzer said. “At some point, they're likely to strike back against Israel. The United States will.” We are very concerned that the war in Gaza will spill over to Israel's northern border. ”
Schanzer said that if Israel was behind the attack, it was taking a “greater risk” to remove Hamas' top leadership in Middle Eastern countries, including U.S. allies Qatar and Turkey. He argued that it would demonstrate a stance of
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“These are all jurisdictions with a significant Hamas presence, and we expect to see more of them in the future,” Schanzer said. “I think this is part of a broader objective to truly eliminate Hamas on a global scale. So there's the Gaza front, and then there's the international front.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
