Maha Abu Khalil, an 80-year-old Palestinian academic and activist, who was also an early member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and one of the first women involved in plane hijackings, was killed in an Israeli air strike last week. The strike targeted the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, as reported by Lebanon’s state news agency.
Abu Khalil’s death occurred close to midnight on April 17, just before a 10-day ceasefire was scheduled to take effect. The same strike claimed the lives of at least 13 other individuals and wounded 35, with 15 people still reported missing.
In 1969, Abu Khalil was arrested in Greece following an attempted hijacking of an El Al flight from Athens. A New York Times report from December 30, 1969, identified her as a 22-year-old schoolteacher. She and two others pleaded not guilty to charges of illegal possession of explosives but admitted to planning the hijacking of the plane, which carried 29 passengers. The planned hijacking, intended to pressure for the release of imprisoned Palestinians, was unsuccessful, but Abu Khalil was later released from prison as part of an exchange.
Following her release, Abu Khalil dedicated her life to working as an academic, activist, and social worker in Lebanon, according to the PFLP. The group issued a statement mourning her death, describing it as a significant loss to a struggle rooted in “feminism, patriotism, and humanitarianism.” They further stated, “Maha Abu Khalil will remain present in the national memory and in the record of women fighters who gave their lives for freedom, justice, and human dignity.”
The PFLP, founded by George Habash in 1967, is known as an explicitly Marxist-Leninist political movement. It was established with the aim of emulating anti-imperialist struggles, drawing inspiration from figures like Che Guevara in Latin America and the National Liberation Front in Vietnam. While its prominence has waned in recent years, overshadowed by Islamist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the PFLP continues to be active in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, with its armed wing carrying out sporadic attacks on Israeli forces.
Despite a nominal ceasefire coming into force on Friday, reports from Haaretz indicate that Israel has continued its systematic destruction of civilian buildings in southern Lebanon. Civilian infrastructure is being targeted and destroyed south of Israel’s “yellow line,” approximately 20km south of the Litani River. Israeli forces are prohibited from crossing this line under the ceasefire agreement. Sources cited by Haaretz suggest that a primary objective of this destruction is to prevent Lebanese residents from returning to areas near the Israeli border. Israel’s military is reportedly using digital tools and statistical systems to monitor the extent of the destruction in each sector.
#MahaAbuKhalil #Palestine #Lebanon #IsraeliAirstrike #PFLP #Tyre #MiddleEastConflict #PalestinianActivist #CeasefireViolations #HumanitarianCrisis
