The Israeli air force attacked terrorist bases in the hill country south of Beirut on Thursday morning, a military spokesman announced. All aircraft returned safely to their bases.
It was the second Israeli raid on Lebanese territory within a week. On March 21, Israeli air force jets bombed targets in two refugee camps east of Sidon.
The spokesman said the targets of Thursday’s raid were bases used by terrorists to plan and launch attacks on Israel. Sources in Beirut said the raid on the Shouf mountain area southeast of the Lebanese capital hit bases of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist group headed by George Habash that broke away from the mainstream Palestine Liberation Organization years ago.
The sources said the target area is also the turf of Walid Jumblatt’s Druse militia. Its bases as well as a multi-story building used by the Popular Front were hit. Beirut’s airport was closed for 15 minutes during the air raid.
According to the Beirut sources, the attack was retaliation for two Katyusha rocket attacks on Galilee this month. The latest occurred Wednesday morning, but caused no casualties and only minor damage.
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