Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Israel reportedly strikes Palestinian terror base in Lebanon

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that the drone strikes amount to a “declaration of war.”

An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an air show at the Hatzerim Air Base in the Negev Desert, Dec. 29, 2016. Credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90.
An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet flies during an air show at the Hatzerim Air Base in the Negev Desert, Dec. 29, 2016. Credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90.

Israel carried out a strike on a base in Lebanon belonging to Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), reported Arabic media early Monday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces has yet to comment.

The apparent strike occurred shortly after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah pledged to shoot down any Israeli aircraft in Lebanese airspace.

“Hezbollah will not allow such an aggression,” he said on Sunday.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the drone strikes amount to a “declaration of war,” reported Reuters. Additionally, Aoun met with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis to discuss the situation.

The PFLP-GC is a Palestinian terror group based in Syria. It was founded in 1968 after splitting from the more well-known terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The PFLP-GC was involved in a number of high-profile terror attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the 1970s and ’80s, including the Avivim school bus massacre, the bombing of Swissair Flight 330, the Kiryat Shmona massacre and the Night of the Gliders. While the group has largely been inactive in recent decades, it has been involved in the Syrian Civil War.

The reported hit in Lebanon happened just hours after Israel carried out an airstrike overnight Saturday against Iranian forces and Shi’ite militias in Syria that were planning to attack the Jewish state with explosives-laden drones.

The IDF continues systematic efforts to dismantle the Islamic Republic’s fire array and aerial-defense systems.
The current restrictions on schools, gatherings and places of work will remain in force through Thursday.
Two police officers were wounded in the exchange of fire.
“It has been less than a year since Kanye West released a song titled “Heil Hitler,” the culmination of three years of appalling antisemitism,” Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said.
“UNICEF has received reports of mobilization campaigns in Iran that include children, and of children working at checkpoints,” the United Nations group said.
Military post advises civilians to avoid rail systems, citing danger through 9 p.m. local time.