France Asks Lebanon to Question 2 Suspects in 1983 Bombing

While a French trooper stands guard, an earth mover constructs a block of a street to beef up security near French paratroop command two days after it was attacked by a terrorist bomb, in Beirut, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1983. (AP)
While a French trooper stands guard, an earth mover constructs a block of a street to beef up security near French paratroop command two days after it was attacked by a terrorist bomb, in Beirut, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1983. (AP)
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France Asks Lebanon to Question 2 Suspects in 1983 Bombing

While a French trooper stands guard, an earth mover constructs a block of a street to beef up security near French paratroop command two days after it was attacked by a terrorist bomb, in Beirut, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1983. (AP)
While a French trooper stands guard, an earth mover constructs a block of a street to beef up security near French paratroop command two days after it was attacked by a terrorist bomb, in Beirut, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1983. (AP)

French authorities have asked Lebanese prosecutors to detain two people suspected of involvement in a 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed dozens of French troops, Lebanese judicial officials said Wednesday.

It is highly unlikely that Lebanese authorities will detain the suspects nearly 40 years after the attacks. Neither has ever been taken into custody.

The request identified the two suspects as Yousef al-Khalil and Sanaa al-Khalil and called on Lebanon’s prosecutor’s office to detain and question them, then inform French authorities of the outcome. It was not immediately clear if the two are related.

On Oct. 23, 1983, suicide car bombers simultaneously blew up a US Marine base and French paratroopers headquarters in Beirut, killing 241 American servicemembers and 58 French troops.

The American and French troops were deployed in Lebanon a year earlier as part of a multinational force following Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

A pro-Iranian Shiite group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the 1983 attacks, which marked the beginning of the end of Western attempts to stop Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. Several months later, the peacekeeping force of US, French, British and Italian troops left Lebanon.

Islamic Jihad was believed to be linked to Hezbollah, although Hezbollah officials have denied that.

The judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, did not say whether the two are members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The request did not say whether the two are still alive, the officials said without giving further details.

In 1997, Lebanese authorities ordered two men investigated for possible links to the suicide bombings of US and French military bases in the first legal action in the case.

The two men that police were ordered to investigate at the time were Hassan Ezzedine and Ali Atwi, believed to have been senior security officials of Hezbollah in the 1980s. The men were never detained.



EU's Kallas Says Gaza Situation 'Unacceptable'

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
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EU's Kallas Says Gaza Situation 'Unacceptable'

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that she told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that the situation in Gaza is "unacceptable".

"Yesterday I also talked to Foreign Minister Saar ...what is happening, why are you doing this. And I mean, also conveying the message that this is unacceptable," she told reporters in Brussels.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said on Wednesday that the resumption of fighting in the war between Israel and Hamas threatens the peace efforts of Arab states.

"The resumption of fighting ... jeopardizes the positive efforts of the Arab states, which together want to pursue a peaceful path for Gaza, free from Hamas," Baerbock said in a statement, calling for great restraint from all sides.

She spoke ahead of her trip to Lebanon to discuss the conflict.

Israel carried out more airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday, a day after shattering nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire began and killing over 400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.