Wissam Abu Hussein Farhat (Arabic:وسام أبو حسين فرحات,romanized: Wisām Abū Ḥusayn Faraḥāt; 1974 – 2 December 2023) was a Palestinian militant who was the head ofHamas's Shejaiya Battalion. He was the mastermind behind various attacks such as theAtzmona Attack, theNahal Oz attack and more.[citation needed]
Biography
Wissam Farhat was born in 1974 toUmm Nidal.[2][3][4] Three of his brothers --Nidal, Muhammad, and Rawad were killed for their Hamas activities.[2]
Farhat was arrested on 20 March 1995 on charges of transporting 6 bags of explosives into Israel, which Israel alleged was an attempt to carry out asuicide bombing in Israel.[2] He spent almost 11 years in Israeli prison, including 2 years in Ashkelon, 6 years in Nafha, and 2 and a half years in Hadarim. He was released from Israeli prison in November 2005, three weeks after his brother Rawad was killed by Israel.[2]
While in prison, Farhat learned of his younger brother Muhammad's participation in theAtzmona attack, in which Muhammad killed 5 Israeli civilians and wounded 12 others. Their other brother Nidal was previously killed.[2]
On 8 December 2023, the military wing of Hamas,Al-Qassam Brigades, published a video showing footage of close-range battles in Shuja'iyya that resulted in the destruction of an IDF tank, and a Qassam militant is heard shouting "for your sake, Abu Hussein!" referring to Farhat.[5]
