Thousands attend the funeral of a top Hamas official killed in an apparent Israeli strike in Beirut

By FADI TAWIL and BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Beirut for the funeral of Saleh Arouri, top commander of militant Palestinian group Hamas, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital. Draped in Palestinian and Hamas flags, Arouri’s coffin along with those of two of his comrades were first taken Thursday to a Beirut mosque for prayers before being carried for burial at a cemetery for fallen Palestinian fighters. Lebanese officials and state media said an Israeli drone fired two missiles Tuesday at an apartment in Beirut’s southern Musharafieh district, a stronghold of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group instantly killing Arouri along with six other Hamas members.