Kozo Okamoto, a Japanese militant involved in a 1972 attack at the airport near Tel Aviv that resulted in more than two dozen deaths, died near Beirut on July 23 at the age of 78. The announcement came from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (P.F.L.P.), a Marxist militant group that orchestrated the attack in coordination with the Japanese Red Army, the radical organization to which Okamoto belonged.

Okamoto had trained with the P.F.L.P. in Lebanon in his youth and spent much of his later life under the group’s protection while living in exile in Lebanon. According to the P.F.L.P., he died after a prolonged illness. The group praised him as a dedicated figure who had long committed himself to the Palestinian cause.

The attack took place at Lod Airport, now known as Ben-Gurion International Airport, in 1972. Okamoto and two other Japanese Red Army members carried out a coordinated assault, opening fire and detonating grenades in a suicide mission. The assailants had traveled extensively before the attack, acquiring weapons in several cities, including Rome and Paris, before boarding a flight to Israel.

Seventeen Puerto Rican pilgrims, eight Israeli citizens, and one Canadian were killed in the assault, with approximately 80 others wounded. Okamoto was the only surviving attacker after security personnel subdued him with a live grenade in hand. In subsequent interrogations, he showed no remorse and requested the death penalty. His father also appealed to Israeli authorities for his execution, but Israel declined, wary of creating a martyr figure, and sentenced him to life in prison.

Okamoto served much of his imprisonment in solitary confinement before being released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and the P.F.L.P. While Japanese officials protested the release and sought his extradition, Okamoto was instead sent to Libya, where he was welcomed by Palestinian and leftist supporters.

In 1997, Okamoto was detained in Lebanon over issues pertaining to his legal documents. His arrest led to significant protests and political pressure within Lebanon, driven by left-wing groups and students who viewed him as a political prisoner rather than a criminal. Following sustained demonstrations and a petition signed by roughly 20,000 people, Lebanese authorities granted him political asylum in 2000.

During his time in Lebanon, Okamoto converted to Islam and adopted the name Ahmad. Observers, including Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow and former leftist activist in Beirut, described Okamoto as a familiar and popular figure in certain left-wing circles. Despite his militant past, those who knew him noted that he rarely glorified violence or revisited his involvement in the 1972 attack.

In a 2017 interview published in a Japanese newspaper, Okamoto expressed sorrow for the victims but rejected terms such as terrorism to describe the attack, framing it instead as part of an armed struggle conducted in alliance with the P.F.L.P. He maintained his political beliefs until his death but stayed largely out of the public spotlight in his later years. He made a brief appearance at a 2022 commemoration held by the P.F.L.P. in Beirut marking the 50th anniversary of the airport attack, though he did not address attendees.