Israel has announced that it killed a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in an airstrike on Sidon, a port city in southern Lebanon. The strike, carried out in the early hours of Friday, also killed the commander’s adult son and daughter.
The Israeli military identified the target as Hassan Farhat, who it described as the commander of Hamas’s western arena in Lebanon. According to the military, Farhat had orchestrated several attacks on Israeli targets, including a February 2024 rocket attack on Safed, which resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier.
The targeted flat, located in a residential building, was heavily damaged and caught fire after the strike. An AFP correspondent reported significant destruction in the area, with neighboring buildings affected and panic spreading among residents.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attack, labeling it a “flagrant attack on Lebanese sovereignty” and a breach of the November 27 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. He called for “maximum pressure on Israel” to stop repeated strikes on residential areas.
Lebanese state media confirmed the 3:45 am (0045 GMT) strike, reporting three fatalities, all described as “martyrs” by the National News Agency (NNA).
This comes days after another Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut, which killed a Hezbollah liaison officer and three others, despite the ongoing truce between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the ceasefire terms, Hezbollah is required to redeploy north of the Litani River and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south, while Israel is expected to withdraw from several strategic positions along the UN-demarcated Blue Line. However, Israel has missed two deadlines and still holds five such positions.
Despite the truce, tensions remain high, with repeated exchanges of fire and mutual accusations of ceasefire violations.
— AFP
