1982–1983 Tyre headquarters bombings

Background

Following Israel's June 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the Israeli military established command posts to administer occupied cities. In Tyre, a seven-story building was used by the Israeli military as a headquarters for governing the city.

First bombing (November 1982)

On November 11, 1982, a Peugeot 504 car packed with explosives struck the headquarters building in Tyre. The explosion leveled the structure, killing 75 Israeli soldiers, border policemen, and Shin Bet agents, along with 14–27 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners who were being held by Israel at the site. Another 27 Israelis and 28 Arabs were injured.

Israeli authorities initially attributed the blast to an accidental explosion of gas cylinders, a position maintained until 2024. This account was contradicted by three witnesses who reported seeing the Peugeot speed toward the building, by identification of car parts recovered from the rubble, and by a Shin Bet report describing Hezbollah's preparations for the attack.

In July 2024, a joint investigation by the IDF, Shin Bet, and Israeli police concluded it was "highly probable" that the explosion resulted from a suicide bomber driving a car loaded with at least 50 kg of explosives, including gas canisters, into the building's ground floor before detonating. That investigation found 76 Israeli soldiers, Shin Bet personnel, and border policemen were killed, along with 15 Lebanese detainees.

A monument near Baalbek, Lebanon, is dedicated to Ahmad Qasir, identified as the 17-year-old suicide bomber responsible for the attack. Hezbollah marks the anniversary of the bombing annually on November 11 as its Martyr Day.

Second bombing (November 1983)

Almost a year later, on November 4, 1983, a suicide bomber drove a pickup truck filled with explosives into a Shin Bet building at an Israeli military base in Tyre. The explosion killed 28 Israelis and 32 Lebanese prisoners, and wounded about 40 others. This attack was carried out by Hezbollah, the Shia Lebanese organization.

Aftermath

Combined, the two bombings killed 104 Israelis and between 47 and 59 Lebanese people, and wounded 95 people. They are regarded as among the worst losses ever suffered by the Israel Defense Forces.