Five militants and one pro-Syrian Palestinian faction were central to the day’s events at a base near the Syrian border in Lebanon. Reports diverged on what happened. Lebanese security forces described the incident as an accidental blast, while the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC) accused Israel of conducting late night strikes on the Qousaya base. The Israeli Army denied involvement.
According to an anonymous security source, an old rocket ignited a weapons depot within the base, resulting in the deaths of five fighters. Qousaya lies close to the Syrian border. The Lebanese Army has not issued an official ruling on the incident. The PFLP-GC is a prominent group operating from Damascus with ties to the Syrian government and allied Lebanese Shiite militias, notably Hezbollah. These connections underpin a presence of the group’s networks across the region, stretching from Lebanon’s Beka Valley toward Syria.
The militias have pressed their position that Israel bears responsibility. Anwar Raja, a spokesperson for the PFLP-GC, told a French press agency that the casualties were caused by night strikes attributed to the Hebrew state. He added that there is currently no more detailed information about the operation. A Lebanon-based group officer, Abu Wael Issam, told the Associated Press that a response would come at the right time, and that the battle would continue with an intensified effort against Israel. A spokesman for the Israeli military told AFP that this was not an operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces. The official statement from the Israeli side emphasized no involvement in the incident.
hijacking
Geopolitical tensions around Israel and Lebanon have featured limited cross-border incidents rather than large-scale escalation. In 2019, Israeli air activity targeted the PFLP-GC presence in Qousaya, and past security assessments in the region have referenced an explosion at a similar base in the same area. Reports of injuries and subsequent blame have circulated, with the PFLP-GC and its Lebanese and Syrian boundary networks often at the center of these narratives.
The militant group is historically known for bold operations against Israel, including a notorious air hijacking by a PFLP-GC faction decades ago. In the late 1960s the group was linked to high-profile aircraft incidents that drew international attention. Across the period, negotiations associated with different conflicts have led to the release of a broad number of prisoners, highlighting the group’s long-standing role in regional diplomacy and hostilities. The broader backdrop includes ongoing control dynamics along the Lebanese-Syrian border and the shifting influence of allied militias inside Lebanon and beyond.