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Israel kills Hamas commander in Lebanon, further testing ceasefire

Israel said the targeted militant Hassan Farhat was behind a rocket attack on the city of Safed last year that killed Israeli soldiers

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Firefighters try to put out a fire at a building following an Israeli strike, in which the Israeli military said it killed Hamas commander Hassan Farhat, in Sidon, Lebanon on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Israel killed a commander of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in an air strike on southern Lebanon on Friday, further testing a ceasefire that halted last year’s war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
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The Israeli military said the targeted militant, Hassan Farhat, was behind a rocket attack on the city of Safed last year that killed and wounded several Israeli soldiers. It vowed to act against Hamas fighters “wherever they operate”.

A security source said Farhat was killed along with his son and daughter in the strike in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. Hamas’ armed wing the al-Qassam Brigades said Farhat was assassinated in his flat in Sidon, and praised his “blessed contributions” to the confrontation with Israel over the years.

Iran-backed Hezbollah condemned the strike in a statement, saying that the “targeting of Sidon is evidence of the enemy’s intention to expand the scope of its aggression and target all of Lebanon”.

Fire burns at a building floor following an Israeli strike on Friday. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office said Friday’s Israeli attack was a clear violation of a US-backed ceasefire. Photo: Reuters
Fire burns at a building floor following an Israeli strike on Friday. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office said Friday’s Israeli attack was a clear violation of a US-backed ceasefire. Photo: Reuters
Hamas and Hezbollah are allies, and Hezbollah launched a campaign of cross border strikes on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian group in 2023. Israel responded with a major air and ground campaign in Lebanon last year that killed much of the Hezbollah leadership.
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