Israel kills senior Hamas terrorist behind series of deadly 2000s West Bank attacks

Hamed was killed on Wednesday in a joint ISA, IDF and Israel Police operation involving a strike in the central Gaza Strip, according to the security agencies.

Israeli security forces eliminated Hamas terrorist Farah Hamed, who was responsible for a series of deadly attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers and later helped direct terrorism in the West Bank, the IDF, Israel Security Agency (ISA) and Israel Police announced on Thursday.

Hamed was killed on Wednesday in a joint ISA, IDF and Israel Police operation involving a strike in the central Gaza Strip, according to the security agencies.

He was a terrorist in Hamas's military wing who previously served as a senior operative in the terrorist organization's West Bank Headquarters, the agencies said. He also took part in combat against IDF troops during the war.

In recent years, Hamed worked to advance terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria, according to the joint announcement. For years, he was a member of the Silwad cell, which carried out several deadly shooting attacks in the Binyamin area in the early 2000s.

Among the attacks attributed to Hamed was a November 2002 shooting near Rimonim Junction in which Israeli civilian Esther Galia Atiya was killed.

He also took part in a June 2003 shooting attack on Route 60 that killed Israeli civilian Zvi (Howard) Goldstein, as well as an August 2003 shooting on the Alon Road in Samaria in which Shalom Har-Melech was killed.

Hamed was also involved in the October 2003 shooting attack in Ein Yabrud, in which three IDF soldiers were killed: Sgt. Elad Pollak, Sgt. Roi Yaakov Solomon and Staff-Sgt. Erez Idan. Another Hamas terrorist involved in the Ein Yabrud attack and Hamas's West Bank Headquarters was eliminated by Israeli security forces in Gaza in 2024.

Hamed initially released back to Gaza as part of Schalit deal

Hamed was later apprehended and was released to the Gaza Strip in 2011 as part of the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange, according to the security agencies.

Following his release to Gaza, Hamed continued operating in Hamas's military wing and was involved in recruiting and directing Hamas operatives to advance attacks in Judea and Samaria, the IDF, ISA, and Israel Police said.