Three Sayeret Matkal commando teams entered the buildings and planted explosive fuses at the apartment doors of their targets, while a backup team led by Barak remained outside and stood guard to repel PLO reinforcements or Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) Gendarmerie units.
At the same time, 14 Israeli commandos, mainly Sayeret Tzanhanim paratroopers, raided a multi-story building that housed militants of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).