After the terrorist attack by the Palestinian organization "Black September" and the murder of Israeli athletes participating in the Munich Olympics in 1972, Israel decided to respond forcefully.
The reaction came in the context of Operation "Wrath of God". The Company "Fountain of Youth" was part of the previous one and aimed at the extermination of three high-ranking officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and "Black September".
The operation was organized by the Mossad but executed by the elite unit of the Israeli army Sayeret Matkal and elite paratroopers of Sayeret Tzanhanim . Sayeret Matkal was then managed by the later Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak .
The targets were Abu Yousef , operational chief of "Black September", executive of the Lebanese branch of Fatah and executive of the PLO and one of Yasser Arafat's deputies, Kamal Antoine , PLO operative responsible for carrying out attacks against Israel and Kamal Nasser , representative of the PLO and member of its executive committee.
That would be the first leg of the business. The second leg it concerned the attack by a group of Israeli paratroopers on the headquarters building of the "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine" (PFLP) organization in Beirut.
The three PLO officials lived in the upmarket Verdun district of Beirut under close surveillance by Mossad agents. In February 1973, the agents sent the information they had gathered together with photographs to Ehud Barak who, based on the information, began to prepare the operation.
Finally it was decided to carry out an attack from the sea. Israeli commandos from the ships would enter Lebanon as tourists, some dressed as women – like Barak himself disembarking as a brunette lady! Mossad agents would be waiting for them on the beach. Extensive training followed with continuous simulations of the attack on homes in northern Tel Aviv.
On April 9, 1973, Israeli speedboats set sail from Haifa bound for the Lebanese coast. Off the coast of Beirut, they threw boats into the sea in which the disguised commandos boarded. When they arrived at the beach, Mossad agents were waiting for them in cars and they drove them to the target building.
The three commando teams entered the building and placed explosives on the doors. The reserve team under Barak remained outside the building ready to fend off any Palestinian reinforcements. When the doors were blown the commandos burst into the apartments and executed the Palestinians, taking with them whatever documents they found. The wife of a Palestinian was also killed in the clash, as well as an Italian tenant. In the meantime, Lebanese forces arrived outside the building and engaged in an exchange of fire with Barak's group. Two Lebanese were killed by Israeli fire.
In cinematic fashion, cars with Mossad agents approached the building and all the Israeli commandos boarded them. Although the cars found themselves facing a Lebanese armored car, they managed to reach the shore from where the commandos, with their boats, rushed to the speedboats that were waiting for them.
The second leg of the raid was carried out by 14 Israeli paratroopers, under Amnon Lipkin Shahak – later minister. The paratroopers stormed the building, but met fierce resistance from the 100 or so fighters inside. Nevertheless, the Israelis managed to kill many of them and blow up the building. Two paratroopers and dozens of fighters were killed. The other paratroopers were withdrawn by helicopters.