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IDF kills five Hamas terrorists, including Oct. 7 perpetrator

Another slain terrorist participated in the release ceremony of an Israeli hostage, and a third was behind a lethal rocket launch.

Airstrike in Gaza
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on March 18, 2025. Photo by Ali Hassan/Flash90.

Israel killed four Hamas terrorists in a precision strike on one of the group’s command and control centers in Jabalia, north of Gaza City, and another Hamas commander in Lebanon, all on Thursday, the military said.

The terrorist eliminated in Lebanon on Thursday night was Hassan Farhat, whom the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said has served as the commander of Hamas’s western arena in that country. “Farhat led numerous terrorist actions ... and was responsible for launching the rockets into Safed that killed Sergeant Amar Sara Banjo and injured several other soldiers on Feb. 14, 2024,” the IDF said on Friday.

One of the four slain terrorists is Gaza was Shadi Diab Abd al-Hamid Falouji, who was part of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and massacres in Israel, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Friday.

Another dead terrorist, Mohammed Sharif, participated “in the cynical release ceremony of returning hostage Agam Berger,” the statement continued. Numerous steps were taken “to mitigate harm to civilians” before the strike, “including the use of aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.”

The two other slain men, Mohammmed Hani Atiya Daour and Mohammed Issa Mahmoud Askari, were involved in rocket and mortar launching units of Hamas, according to an infographic published by the Spokesperson’s Unit that included a picture of the deceased.

On Friday, IDF troops operated in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood to expand the security zone, the IDF said in a separate update. “As part of the activity, the troops eliminated numerous terrorists,” the text said.

On Thursday night, terrorists in Gaza fired a projectile into Israel, triggering alarms. It was “successfully intercepted,” the IDF said.

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