News Center- Leila Khaled, a leading figure of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been hospitalized after suffering a bleed on her brain that caused a stroke.

“Send your good vibes to Comrade Leila Khalid, hospitalized with an intracranial hemorrhage. Red salute to our beloved comrade,” Vijay Prashad, an Indian-American writer and journalist, wrote on the social media platform X.

Who is Leila Khaled?

Leila Khaled  was born on April 9, 1944, in Haifa to Arab parents. During the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, Her family fled to Lebanon on April 13, 1948, as part of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight, leaving her father behind. At the age of 15, she joined the Arab Nationalist Movement, originally established in the late-1940s by George Habash. The Palestinian branch of this movement became the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine after the 1967 Six-Day War.

Then, she spent some time teaching in Kuwait. On August 29, 1969, Leila Khaled was part of a team that hijacked TWA Flight 840 on its way from Rome to Tel Aviv, diverting the Boeing 707 to Damascus. Leila Khaled claimed she had ordered the pilot to fly over Haifa, so she could see her birthplace. After the passengers disembarked, the hijackers blew up the nose section of the aircraft.

After this hijacking, Eddie Adams took  a photograph of her holding an AK-47 rifle and wearing a keffiyeh and this photograph was reproduced in many publications. On September 6, 1970, Leila Khaled and Patrick Argüello attempted to hijack El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam to New York City. Argüello was shot and injured by sky marshals. The pilot diverted the aircraft to Heathrow Airport in London. Leila Khaled was arrested though later released during a hostage exchange.