1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon

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The 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon, code-named Operation Gift (Hebrew: מבצע תשורה), was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commando raid on Beirut International Airport on the night of December 28 - 29, 1968. The commandos destroyed 13 civilian airplanes belonging to Middle East Airlines (MEA) in response to an attack on an Israeli airliner in Athens by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).^[1] There were no casualties reported.^[2]

v • d • e Israeli-Lebanese conflict

1948 Arab-Israeli War – 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon – 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon – 1978 South Lebanon conflict – 1982 Lebanon War – 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict – 2006 Lebanon War

[edit] Background

On 22 July 1968, militants hijacked an El Al plane on its way from Rome to Tel Aviv, and forced the pilot to land in Algiers. About four months later, in the early afternoon of 26 December, two militants who had arrived in Athens from Beirut International Airport, fired at an El Al plane about to take off from the Athens Airport. As a result, an Israeli citizen was killed, a stewardess was wounded, and the plane damaged. The spokesman of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), whose headquarters was in Beirut, announced that the operation was carried out by his organization.

In response, IDF commandos took over part of Beirut Airport and destroyed 13 aircraft belonging to Middle East Airlines (MEA).^[3]

[edit] References

^ Time (July 13, 2006). "The Risks of Israel's Two-Front War". Retrieved May 30, 2008.
^ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (August 13, 2000). "THE WAR OF ATTRITION AND THE CEASE FIRE - INTRODUCTION". Retrieved May 30, 2008.
^ Naber, Nadine. U.S.-Israeli War on Lebanon. Critical Moment.: "In 1968, Israel bombed the Beirut International Airport, destroying 13 Middle East airline planes."