Tel Aviv, Jan 15 (IANS): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has claimed to have arrested two sisters of slain Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in an airstrike in Beirut earlier this month.

In a statement on Sunday, the military said they were arrested in two separate raids in the West Bank.

Dalal al-Arouri (52) and Fatima al-Arouri (47) were taken into custody from Arura town and Al-Bireh city, respectively.

Without providing additional details, the IDF said they were arrested for “inciting terror against the State of Israel".

Arura, located north of Ramallah, was the hometown of Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed on January 2 along with six other Hamas members in the Israeli drone attack that targeted an office of the militant group in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.

Saleh al-Arouri's assassination had sent shock waves within the Hamas and Hezbollah as he was top leader to be killed since the war began on October 7, 2023.

In two back-to-back televised addresses, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasarullah had threatened to retaliate in full might since the killing occurred in Lebanon.

Except for minor skirmishes in north Israel, the Iran-backed Hezbollah has not acted much.

According to military analysts, this was a clear case of Hezbollah not joining the war front.

The Lebanon-based militant group had been by both Israel and the US that yje situation would escalate into a full fledged war and that there would be major casualties.