IDF Eliminates Hamas Terrorist Who Murdered MK Limor Son Har-Melech's Husband
Israel's security forces, including the Shin Bet and the IDF, confirmed on Thursday the targeted killing of Hamas operative Farah Hamad in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip the previous day. Footage released with the announcement showed Hamad on a motorcycle at the moment of the strike.
Hamad was involved in numerous attacks, including the 2003 assassination of Shuli Har-Melech, the husband of current Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech. Hamad was released in the 2011 prisoner exchange deal for Gilad Shalit and had since been promoting terror activities in Judea and Samaria from Gaza. He was a member of the "Silwad" cell and also participated in a 2003 shooting attack near Ein Yabrud that killed three IDF soldiers.
Twenty-three years after her husband's murder, MK Son Har-Melech received news of Hamad's elimination. She stated, "Let every terrorist who murdered Jews know: even if he is released, even if he escapes, and even if many years pass, the long arm of the people of Israel will reach him."
The 2003 attack occurred on August 29, when the Har-Melechs were driving near Ramallah. Five terrorists opened fire on their vehicle. Shuli Har-Melech, who was driving, died at the scene. MK Son Har-Melech, then seven months pregnant, was seriously injured but rescued. She gave birth to their daughter, Sarah Yahav, several hours later. She remarried in 2006.
The five members of the cell responsible for Shuli Har-Melech's murder received lengthy life sentences for their roles in multiple attacks. According to Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamad was part of a cell involved in nine attacks before moving into senior roles within the terror organization.
