Posted on 07/03/24
| News Source: JPost
A joint Shin Bet and IDF commission on Wednesday announced that “The First Tyre Disaster” in 1982 was the result of a Lebanese terrorist suicide-bomber, with the explosion killing around 75 Israeli members of the security forces and 15 Lebanese detainees at Israel’s headquarters in the city.
More specifically, the commission led by IDF Maj.-Gen (res.) Amir Abulafia and senior Shin Bet Division Chief “S,” found that either Hezbollah or Amal, which now are a united movement but at the time had some separate aspects, and with coordination with Iran, caused the explosion using a minimum of 50 kilograms of explosives plus some additional gas explosives to collapse the multi-story building.
The timing of the commission’s announcement could be significant as it marks Hezbollah as responsible for a mass terror incident which also killed many Lebanese citizens at a time when the terror group is trying to convince the broader population that its main focus is Lebanese interests, not Iranian interests.
It is also significant in that it brings into question the integrity of the defense establishment for being fully honest about its failures, just as the IDF probe regarding the October 7 failures is close to being released to the public late this month.
The commission’s determination reverses the decision of the 1982 Zorea Commission, which had ruled that the November 11, 1982, collapse of the building was caused by a gas leak explosion.