Beirut, 31 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) - A hardline Palestinian group which maintains bases in eastern Lebanon said on Wednesday that Israel has hit one of its bases in eastern Lebanon, killing five of its members.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident, but several Israeli media reported that Israel was not behind the attack.

Anwar Raja, spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), told dpa by phone from his headquarters in Damascus that Israel carried out a dawn attack on their base in Qusaya in eastern Lebanon. 

He added that the strike wounded 10 fighters and also inflicted material damage.

The PFLP-GC, which was headed by the late hardline Palestinian leader Ahmad Jebril, maintains bases in eastern Lebanon and in neighbouring Syria.

The group has very close links with Iran and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. They also fought alongside Syrian president Bashar al-Assad during the war in Syria.

The last Israeli strike on the group was in 2019, when an Israeli drone hit one of their bases in eastern Lebanon.

Photo: MIA archive