Sci-fi and fantasy are genres that naturally bleed into one another, and everyone will draw the lines differently. I’d personally agree that Star Wars is more fantasy than sci-fi, but I wouldn’t want to gatekeep anyone who called it their favorite sci-fi franchise.
Yeah, that’s definitely a plot point that I’ve had to file under “Just don’t think about it.” It’s totally unjustifiable logically, so I don’t bother trying.