A BLAST early today at a military base controlled by a Syrian-backed Palestinian resistance group in eastern Lebanon killed five freedom fighters and wounded 10 others, according to two Palestinian officials with the group.

The group said that an Israeli air strike caused the blast, but that account was disputed by an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, who denied the country had any role in the incident. 

Israel does not typically respond to foreign reports.

In Beirut, a Lebanese military official said the explosion was the result of a blast within the base, saying that there was no air strike. 

An official with a regional group allied with the Syrian government, said the explosion was the result of a “human error” that occurred when militants were handling ammunition. 

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Anwar Raja of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), said the Israeli strike hit positions in the eastern Lebanese town of Qusaya near the border with Syria. 

He said that two of the wounded were in critical condition.

Another PFLP-GC official, Lebanon-based Abu Wael Issam, said that his group would retaliate against the attack “at the suitable time.” 

He said that the strike will not deter his group from “escalating the fight against the Israeli enemy.”

The Lebanese army and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group also had no immediate official comment on the air strike.

Mr Raja attributed Israel’s denial to “the sensitivity of the situation in Lebanon,” a suggestion that any acknowledgement of a strike by Israel would push Hezbollah to retaliate.

It has been rare for Israel to carry out air strikes on Lebanon in recent years.

Israel launched strikes in southern Lebanon in April, a day after militants fired nearly three dozen rockets at Israel, wounding two Syrian workers and causing some property damage. 

The Israeli military said at the time that it had targeted installations of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, in southern Lebanon.

The PFLP-GC has positions along the Lebanon-Syria border as well as military presence in both countries. The group had carried out attacks against Israel in the past.