Savoy Hotel Attack
| Savoy Hotel Attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel |
PLO | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| ? | Abu Jihad | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ? | 8 fighters | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 soldiers killed 8 civilians killed |
7 killed 1 captured |
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Coordinates: 32°04′21″N 34°45′57″E / 32.0725°N 34.76583°E
The Savoy Hotel Attack was a terrorist attack by members of the Palestine Liberation Organization against the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 4–5, 1975.
At 11:00 PM on the night of March 4, 1975, eight Palestinians in two teams landed by boat on the Tel Aviv beach. Shooting and throwing grenades, they took over the Savoy Hotel near the center of the city. The guests were taken hostage. The Palestinians threatened that if Israel did not release 20 Palestinian prisoners within four hours the hostages would be executed.
Early the next morning, the Israeli counter-terrorism unit Sayeret Matkal stormed the hotel, killing seven of the perpetrators and capturing one. Five hostages were freed, while eight were killed. Three soldiers, including former Sayeret Matkal commander Uzi Yairi, were also killed. A few hours later the ship that had transported the militants was captured and its crew taken prisoner.
The Palestinian operation was planned by Abu Jihad in retaliation for a surgical raid that the Sayeret Matkal conducted in Beirut, Lebanon in April, 1973 (Operation Spring of Youth), where they killed three top PLO leaders.[citation needed]
Members of the Savoy cell included Musa Juma al-Tallka, the sole survivor, Muhammad Mashala, Hader Muhammad, Ziad Talk al-Zrir, Musa Awad, Muhammed al-Masri, Abu al-Lel, and Ahmed Hamid, who were all killed by the Israeli troops.
Initial Palestinian planning had called for an attack against the Israeli tourist city of Nahariya, yet the team was apparently unable to locate the city on the night of the attempt, two months earlier. The operation's objectives were then changed to the Manshiya Neighborhood Youth Club and the Tel Aviv Opera Building. The contingency plan in case the original targets could not be located was to select any nearby populated buildings as targets. This resulted in the Savoy Hotel raid, as it was the only illuminated building on the street.
[edit] External links
- Terrorist Suicide Operation Analysis Global Security
