Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese militant involved in the deadly 1972 attack on Tel Aviv’s international airport, died on Thursday, July 24, 2026, in Beirut, according to the Palestinian group that had been protecting him.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the second-largest faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization, stated that Okamoto had been ill for an extended period. Known within the PFLP as Ahmad al-Yabani or Ahmad the Japanese, Okamoto made rare public appearances after settling in Lebanon following his release from Israeli custody.

Okamoto served 12 years in an Israeli prison for his role in the May 30, 1972 attack, which was believed to be a joint operation between the Japanese Red Army guerrilla group and the PFLP. During the attack, Okamoto and two colleagues arrived in Tel Aviv from Europe, retrieved bags containing rifles and grenades, and opened fire, killing 26 people and injuring dozens more.

The PFLP described Okamoto’s life as marked by “immense sacrifices spanning for decades on the battlefields of struggle in support of the Palestinian cause” and said he “never compromised nor faltered but remained steadfast to his principles.”