Israeli Jets Rocket Palestinian Guerrilla Camp South of Beirut
Israeli warplanes today rocketed an olive grove believed to be the site of a Palestinian guerrilla base, police said. A Palestinian officer said one guerrilla was killed and two injured in the second Israeli air attack in Lebanon in three days.
In Tel Aviv, the Israeli military command said the target was a base belonging to the Fatah guerrilla faction headed by Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The command said the base consisted of several tents in a forest south of Sidon.
Lebanese police said the Israeli planes rocketed Ashrafieh Hill east of Sidon’s Mieh Mieh refugee camp, and confirmed that a Fatah base was believed located there. Guerrilla sources said the area is used by the Palestine Liberation Army, the PLO’s military arm.
Police said six Israeli planes swooped out of the sky over the Mediterranean west of Sidon at 11:20 a.m. and divebombed in groups of three.
Guerrillas fired anti-aircraft guns and ground-to-air SAM-7 missiles that were deflected by heat balloons released by the Israeli pilots, the police said.
The Israeli command said its pilots reported accurate hits and all planes returned safely to base.
Palestinian guerrillas cordoned off the stricken area hours after the attack, turning back reporters and photographers.
State-run Radio Beirut reported extensive damage. Ambulances roared toward the camp from Sidon, which is 25 miles south of Beirut.
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