Kozo Okamoto, Japanese Red Army member, dies in Beirut

Kozo Okamoto, a 78‑year‑old former member of the Japanese Red Army, died on Thursday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said. The PFLR, which protected him for decades, described him as "Ahmad al‑Yabani" and hailed his "immense sacrifices" for the Palestinian cause.

Okamoto was the sole survivor of a three‑person Japanese Red Army unit that, together with the PFLP, carried out a gun‑and‑grenade assault on Israel’s Lod (now Ben Gurion) Airport on 30 May 1972. The attack killed 26 people – including 17 Americans, eight Israelis and a Canadian – and wounded dozens more. He was captured, sentenced to life imprisonment, and released in 1985 as part of a prisoner‑exchange with Israel. After his release he settled in Lebanon, where he lived under PFLP protection until his death.

His death prompted condolences from Palestinian groups and Hezbollah, which called him a revolutionary symbol. Japan’s authorities had repeatedly sought his extradition, but Lebanese courts denied the request.