"The Night of Gliders" Two Arabs Entered Palestine by Air and Killed Israeli Soldiers

In a qualitative operation that shook Israel, two Arabs affiliated with the "Popular Front for the Liberation of  Palestine - General Command" were able to fly their gliders near the Lebanese-Israeli border, and one of them succeeded in infiltrating an Israeli camp, killing Israeli soldiers and wounding others.

On this day 34 years ago, Tunisian blood mixed with Syrian blood when they flew their gliders from the heights of southern Lebanon towards an Israeli camp, and one of them succeeded in killing Israeli soldiers and wounding dozens of them in a qualitative operation that stunned the world. As the "Night of Gliders".

On the night of November 25, 1987, 4 fighters they led in the "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command" saluted and flew their gliders towards the Israeli "Gibor" camp near the village of Tarshiha in the Upper Galilee. Two Palestinians participated in the operation, whose names have not yet been revealed. In addition to the Syrian Khaled Muhammad Aker and the Tunisian Miloud bin Al-Najah Noma.

This glider operation resulted in the killing of 6 Israeli soldiers and the wounding of 8 others seriously to moderate, as well as the killing of the Tunisian resistance fighter Miloud Noma after his plane crashed, while the Syrian Khaled Aker was killed during the attack, and the two Palestinians survived by not participating in the operation due to technical problems that prevented Their planes are out of flight.

Operation planning

To prevent any leaks about its nature and timing, knowledge of the details of the operation was limited to the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Ahmed Jibril, and 4 others within a very narrow circle, in addition to the 4 fighters participating in the operation, who were busy with training, preparation and planning to the smallest details.

Since simple gliders were the criterion in the success or failure of the operation, the organizers of the operation paid attention to the smallest details, and on top was the issue of the total weight that the aircraft could carry, especially since the operation would be carried out on a cold night and in a stormy weather, if the implementers requested that the number and weights of clothing and equipment be reduced in favor of Increase the amount of ammunition they will need more while storming the camp.

From the first moment when planning for a "Kibya operation" began, the young men participating in it realized that they had one-way tickets, and that in one way or another they were participating in a commando operation that would end in killing or arrest. them back to Lebanon.

Attack night

At 11:00 on the night of November 25, 1987, a squadron of gliders led by 4 Arab fighters took off towards the "Gibour" camp, or what was called the "Heroes' Camp", which was affiliated with the Golani Brigade, which includes the elite forces in The Israeli army has the headquarters of the Northern Command.

While 3 of the participants in the operation failed to reach the target, as the planes of the two Palestinians were forced to land inside Lebanese territory as a result of mechanical problems, while the plane of the Tunisian Miloud Ben Noma crashed inside the buffer zone controlled by the forces of the "South Lebanon Army" who owed allegiance to the army The Israeli occupation, the Syrian resistance fighter Khaled Aker was able to reach the camp after he managed to fly a plane accurately and professionally over the bushes, away from the eyes and radars of the Israeli soldiers.

As soon as Khaled landed on the camp grounds, carrying a Kalashnikov in one hand and a pistol with a silencer in the other, he began to clash with the panicked and fearful Israeli soldiers, and for an hour and a half he was able to kill and wound dozens, and the battle between Khaled Aker and the Elite Forces did not end until after the intervention of additional forces Land and air, which led to his death.

As for his Tunisian comrade Miloud bin Al-Najah Noma, he was wounded after his plane fell over the heights of the Ain Zhalta area in southern Lebanon, and he hid waiting for the patrols of the occupation army and the South Lebanon Army that were scanning the borders in search of other fighters. As soon as they approached him, Miloud started shooting and did not stop until when he was killed.

The results of the operation "Qibya"

The operation resulted in the killing of two Arab resistance fighters, the Syrian Khaled Aker and the Tunisian Miloud bin Al-Najah Noma, in addition to the killing and wounding of 36 soldiers from the elite forces of the Israeli occupation army, according to the first statement made by the Israeli army spokesman, who later announced the killing of 6 soldiers and the wounding of 8 others. Just.

Operation Qibya also had a major role in restoring the Palestinian cause to the scene of Arab and international events, especially since some tried to divert the compass of the Arab conflict from Israel to Iran, and also contributed to reviving the struggle against the occupation inside the occupied Palestinian territories and igniting the first intifada.

It is noteworthy that the glider operation took its official name, which is “Operation Qibya” from the village of Qibiya, located in Ramallah district, which was attacked by the Israeli occupation forces led by Ariel Sharon on October 14, 1953, which resulted in the death of 51 unarmed civilians, in addition to the destruction of homes The village was flattened.