Israeli Jets Bomb PLO Headquarters in Tunisia
Israeli air force strikes PLO headquarters near Tunis in long-range raid, killing dozens in retaliation for yacht murders in Cyprus.
Israeli F-15 fighter jets carried out a devastating air strike on PLO headquarters in Hammam al-Shatt, near Tunis, in the longest-range attack in Israeli military history. The raid, covering over 2,000 kilometers, targeted the complex housing Yasser Arafat’s offices and PLO operations.
Israeli officials said the attack was in retaliation for the murder of three Israeli tourists on a yacht in Cyprus last week, which Israel attributes to Force 17, an elite PLO unit. At least 60 people were killed in the bombing, including PLO members and Tunisian civilians.
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat narrowly escaped the attack, having left the compound shortly before the bombing. Several senior PLO officials were reported among the casualties.
The raid has drawn widespread international condemnation, with the United States calling it “legitimate self-defense” while most other nations denounced the violation of Tunisian sovereignty. Tunisia has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
The operation demonstrates Israel’s continued reach and determination to strike Palestinian targets regardless of distance or international borders. It also highlights the PLO’s vulnerability in exile following their expulsion from Lebanon.
Arab states have condemned the attack as “state terrorism,” while Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres defended the action as necessary to combat Palestinian terrorism wherever it operates.