A senior Hamas commander, Hassan Farhat, was killed early Friday morning in a targeted Israeli airstrike on a residential apartment in the Lebanese port city of Sidon, prompting strong condemnation from Lebanese authorities over what they described as a blatant breach of sovereignty and the November 2023 ceasefire.
The Israeli military confirmed the pre-dawn strike, stating that Farhat, identified as the commander of Hamas’s western operations in Lebanon, was eliminated in a joint operation by the army and intelligence agency Shin Bet.
“Overnight, the IDF and Shin Bet conducted a precise strike in the Sidon area, neutralizing Hassan Farhat, a key terrorist responsible for orchestrating multiple attacks against Israeli forces and civilians,” the statement read. Israel accused Farhat of coordinating a deadly rocket attack on the town of Safed on February 14, 2024, which claimed the life of an Israeli soldier.
Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed Farhat’s death, along with his son Hamza — also a member of the group — and his adult daughter Jenan.
An AFP reporter at the scene described the aftermath as chaotic, with the fourth-floor apartment engulfed in flames and significant damage to surrounding buildings. The strike, which occurred around 3:45 a.m. local time, triggered panic in the densely populated area.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported “two successive explosions” caused by a “hostile drone” and confirmed the recovery of three bodies from the wreckage.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strike as a “flagrant attack on Lebanese sovereignty” and an “egregious violation” of the ceasefire agreement. He called for international pressure on Israel to “immediately halt its repeated assaults on Lebanese territories, many of which are residential zones.”
The Sidon strike came just days after another Israeli air raid on southern Beirut, which killed a Hezbollah-Palestinian liaison officer and three others, including a woman. That marked only the second Israeli strike on the capital since the ceasefire.
Despite the November 27 truce intended to reduce hostilities, tensions remain high. Hezbollah, which is bound under the agreement to withdraw north of the Litani River and dismantle southern military infrastructure, remains a target of Israeli air raids. Israel, on its part, has missed two deadlines to pull back from contested areas along the UN-demarcated Blue Line and continues to hold five strategic positions.
The ongoing cross-border confrontations have deepened fears of a broader regional escalation, even as diplomatic efforts seek to restore calm.
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