The killing of a top Hamas commander in an apparent Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment has given Israel an important symbolic achievement in its 3-month-old war against the Islamic militant group. But history has shown that the benefits of such dramatic operations are often short-lived, bringing on further violence and equally formidable replacements as leaders of militant groups. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Tuesday's airstrike that killed Salah Arouri, the No. 2 commander in Hamas. But the precision attack bore the hallmarks of an Israeli attack. The assassination raised the risk of drawing in the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah into a regionwide war.
