Israel killed a senior Hamas commander in an airstrike on southern Lebanon on Friday, further straining a fragile ceasefire that ended last year’s conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said the commander, Hassan Farhat, was responsible for a rocket attack on Safed in 2023 that resulted in Israeli casualties. It said it would continue targeting Hamas operatives “wherever they operate.”
A security source confirmed that Farhat was killed in the strike in the city of Sidon, along with his son and daughter. Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of assassinating him in his apartment and hailed his longstanding contributions to its struggle.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, condemned the strike, calling it a sign that Israel intends to expand its military aggression to all of Lebanon. “The targeting of Sidon is evidence of the enemy’s intention to expand the scope of its aggression and target all of Lebanon,” the group said in a statement.
Hezbollah and Hamas are allies, and Hezbollah launched cross-border strikes on Israel in solidarity with Hamas during the 2023 conflict. Israel retaliated with a sweeping air and ground offensive that decimated parts of Hezbollah’s leadership in Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office said Friday’s airstrike was a blatant violation of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
The truce, reached in November, has been increasingly fragile, with Israel carrying out airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs — a Hezbollah stronghold — and rockets being launched from Lebanon into Israeli territory in recent weeks.
Hezbollah has blamed the United States and other ceasefire sponsors for turning a blind eye to Israeli aggression. The US, meanwhile, defended Israel’s recent strikes, attributing renewed fighting to “terrorists” and maintaining that Israel was acting in self-defence.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the most recent rocket attacks launched from Lebanon.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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