A joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Shin Bet security agency and Israeli police appeared to confirm what many in Israel have long suspected: that the deadly blast that rocked the IDF headquarters building in Tyre during the first Lebanon war in 1982 represented a terrorist attack rather than an accident caused by a gas leak. 

Last year, Israel's defense establishment announced that it was relaunching the investigation into the incident, "out of respect for the fallen and in the pursuit of the truth."

The blast killed 76 Israeli military personnel and 14 Lebanese prisoners. An official IDF inquiry at the time pointed to a to have been caused by a gas leak that led to an explosion that collapsed the building.

A commission headed by IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Abulafia is tasked with “examining the findings of the inquiry team and other materials, in order to form a final position on the matter,” the statement said.