IDF Eliminates Hamas Commander Responsible for Murdering MK's Husband

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the elimination of Farhat Hamed, a senior Hamas military wing commander, in an airstrike on Al-Rashid Street in western Gaza City on Tuesday. Hamed, 43, was a leader of the terror cell responsible for the 2003 murder of Shalom Har-Melech, husband of current Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech.

Hamed was arrested in 2004 and sentenced to three life terms for his role in a deadly attack in October 2003 that killed three soldiers from the Duchifat Battalion: Sergeant Major Erez Idan, Sergeant Elad Pollak, and Sergeant Ro'i Yaakov Salomon. A fourth soldier was wounded in the same attack.

According to the "Abu Ali Express" blog, the cell Hamed led was also responsible for other fatal attacks, including the murders of Esther Galia in November 2002 and Zvi Goldstein in June 2003. Hamed was released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal and subsequently deported to the Gaza Strip.

Since his deportation, Hamed became a key figure in Hamas's West Bank headquarters, an entity that continued to direct and carry out attacks against Israelis in Judea and Samaria from Gaza until his elimination. The IDF stated that Hamed was responsible for directing terror activities from Gaza.