Mysterious Lebanon blast kills Palestinian fighters, Israel denies involvement

Rina Bassist

May 31, 2023

Residents stand on their balcony at the Wavel Palestinian refugee camp (also known as the Jalil camp) in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 24, 2020, after cases of infection by the novel coronavirus were detected there. - The residents of the Wavel camp were tested after a member of a household, a Palestinian refugee from Syria, was admitted to the state-run Rafic Hariri hospital in the capital Beirut for demonstrating COVID-19 symptoms. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) — Residents stand on their balcony at the Wavel Palestinian refugee camp (also known as the Jalil camp) in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on April 24, 2020. — AFP via Getty Images

Several members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC) were reportedly killed in a mysterious blast early Wednesday morning at the group's base in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border.

The Associated Press quoted PFLP-GC official Anwar Raja as claiming that an Israeli strike hit the group's positions in the Lebanese town of Qusaya. According to the report, five people were killed and 10 others were wounded, including two who are now in critical condition.

Al Jazeera reported that there are conflicting reports about the incident from Lebanese and Palestinian sources, which claimed the blast stemmed from an old rocket going off in an arms depot or landmines exploded while being moved.

Another PFLP-GC official named Abu Wael Issam told The Associated Press that his group will retaliate “at the suitable time,” adding that the strike would not deter the PFLP-GC from “escalating the fight against the Israeli enemy.”