Night of the Gliders

Night of the Gliders
Part of the South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)
The attack site
Location	In northern Israel near the border with Lebanon
Coordinates	33°13′23″N 35°36′06″E / 33.22306°N 35.60167°E / 33.22306; 35.60167
Date	25 November 1987
Attack type	Shooting attack
Weapons	AK-47 assault rifle, a pistol with a silencer, and several hand grenades
Deaths	6 (+ 2 attackers)
Non-fatal injuries	8
Perpetrators	PFLP-GC

Night of the Gliders (Hebrew: ליל הגלשונים‎‎, Leil HaGilshonim) refers to an incident that took place on 25 November 1987, in which two Palestinian guerrillas infiltrated into Israel from South Lebanon using hang gliders to launch a surprise attack against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). While one was successfully tracked down and killed by Israeli security forces before he could carry out an attack, another one managed to infiltrate an IDF base, killing six Israeli soldiers and wounding eight others before being shot dead.

In 1987, Israel was occupying a security zone in Southern Lebanon. One of the organizations fighting Israel there was Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC), a Damascus-based Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) splinter group, which had been operating in Lebanon since late 1960s, launching attacks on north Israel.

The fence along the border made it difficult to cross into Israel. In March 1981, a similar attempt was made when an intruder, using a motorized hang glider reached Haifa Bay and tossed some bombs, but was forced to land after running out of fuel and was arrested.

On the night of 25 November 1987, two PFLP-GC militants, Khaled Akar and Melod Najah, took off from Southern Lebanon, perhaps from a Syrian controlled area, each armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, a pistol with a silencer, and several hand grenades. Their gliders were each powered by lawn mower-size engine and a small propeller. The engine noises were heard by several soldiers, and at 10:30 PM the Israeli Northern Command was alerted to the danger of an infiltration. An alarm was sounded, flares were fired and helicopters were sent out to search for the gliders, but without success, as the gliders were flying as low as tree level. However, at the Gibor army camp, about two miles east of Kiryat Shmona, no security precautions had been taken thirty minutes after the alarm was issued and no additional guards had been posted at the camp's gate. It was later discovered that an early intelligence warning was neglected by all except Kibbutz Ma'ayan Baruch, due to lack of attention.