An Israeli strike on Friday killed a Hamas official in southern Lebanon, along with his son and daughter, according to official reports from Israel, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas.

“At approximately 3:45 am (0045 GMT), a hostile drone attacked a residential apartment in the Al-Zahour neighbourhood,” in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon’s state-run news agency NNA said.

The Israel Defense Forces said, “IDF and ISA conducted a targeted strike in the Sidon area, eliminating the terrorist Hassan Farhat, commander of Hamas’ Western Arena in Lebanon.”

The ISA is the Israeli Security Agency, also known as the Shin Bet.

It added that during the war against Hamas, “Farhat orchestrated numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians and the Israeli army and was responsible for the rockets launched toward Safed” on February 14 of last year, which killed a staff sergeant and wounded several other soldiers.

Hamas said it “mourns the martyrdom” of Farhat, whom it described as a mujahid commander, and mourns his daughter and son, who it said were also killed in a “treacherous Zionist airstrike” at the family’s home in Sidon.

The Lebanese Health Ministry and a Lebanese security official all confirmed the attack on the three.

Last month and early this month, several rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militia has denied responsibility. The Israeli military retaliated against the attack by striking Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

A shaky ceasefire has been in effect between Hezbollah and Israel since the end of November.

(dpa/NAN)