An Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon killed several people, including a senior leader of the Palestinian group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and his bodyguard, as they were traveling to Syria, according to news reports and the group’s statement Friday.

The strike near the Masnaa border crossing on Thursday afternoon killed Mohammed Wishah, a central committee member of the PFLP, the group said. The Israeli military confirmed the attack, describing Wishah as responsible for coordinating with militant groups in the region and strengthening ties between the PFLP and Iran’s so-called axis of resistance.

Israel said Wishah was involved in planning attacks against Israel and had recently taken over as the PFLP’s top security official in Syria following the death of his predecessor in a Beirut airstrike last September.

PFLP official Marwan Abdel-Al mourned the deaths of Wishah and his bodyguard, Mufid Hussein, calling them “two of the most loyal comrades who gave their precious souls to freedom.”

Lebanese state news agency NNA reported that the airstrike killed six people and wounded 10 others but did not identify the victims.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Israel has targeted Palestinian officials in Lebanon, including members of the PFLP. Three PFLP members were killed in a September airstrike on a Beirut apartment.

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A PFLP source said Wishah was in Lebanon for meetings with group officials and was returning to Syria when the strike occurred.

Wishah was born in Gaza in 1954 and joined the PFLP in 1973. He spent five years in Israeli prisons early in his involvement. The PFLP, a leftist and secular group, is the second-largest member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization after President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah.

On Friday morning, an Israeli drone strike targeted a car on a coastal highway in southern Lebanon, killing citizen journalist Mohammed Shehadeh, who was later identified by Hezbollah as one of its members, NNA reported.