Funeral held of top Hamas official killed in apparent Israeli strike in Beirut

Hamas members carry the coffin of Saleh Arouri (Hussein Malla/AP)

Thousands of people took to the streets of Beirut on Thursday for the funeral of top Hamas commander Saleh Arouri, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an apartment in the Lebanese capital.

Draped in Palestinian and Hamas flags, Arouri’s coffin and those of two of his comrades were first taken to a Beirut mosque for prayers before being carried to the Palestine Martyrs Cemetery where top Palestinian officials killed by Israel over the hast five decades are buried.