See also: Violence Against Jews Before 1948 — the pre-state pogroms & riots as a debate rebuttal.
Israel
1880s-1947 (Pre-State of Israel)
- Various incidents occurred during this period, particularly during the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 and the Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine, but they are less often categorized as massacres in historical records.
- Attachment (file not included in this release)
1947-1949 (During the Israeli War of Independence)
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Deir Yassin massacre (1948): Jewish fighters killed over 100 Palestinian Arab villagers in Deir Yassin.
Attachment (file not included in this release) What is Deir Yassin and the Nakba? - Unpacked -
Tantura massacre (1948): Alleged killing of Palestinian Arabs by Israeli forces in Tantura, though this is subject to historical debate and controversy.
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Lydda massacre (1948): Israeli forces killed several hundred Palestinian civilians during the Battle of Lydda.
Post-1948 (After the Establishment of Israel)
- Qibya massacre (1953): Israeli military forces attacked the West Bank village of Qibya, resulting in numerous Palestinian civilian deaths.
- Kafr Qasim massacre (1956): Israeli Border Police killed 48 Arab civilians in Kafr Qasim.
- Kfar Etzion massacre - Wikipedia
- Sabra and Shatila massacre (1982): Lebanese Christian militia killed Palestinian and Lebanese civilians in refugee camps in Beirut, while the area was under Israeli control.
- Cave of the Patriarchs massacre (1994): A Jewish extremist killed 29 Muslim worshippers in Hebron.
Arabs
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1920 Nebi Musa Riots (Jerusalem, British Mandate Palestine): Five Jews killed during Arab riots.
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1921 Jaffa Riots (Jaffa, British Mandate Palestine): 47 Jews and 48 Arabs killed in communal violence.
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1929 Hebron Massacre (Hebron, British Mandate Palestine): 67 Jews killed by Arab mobs.
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1929 Safed Massacre (Safed, British Mandate Palestine): 18 Jews killed during Arab riots.
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1936–1939 Arab Revolt (British Mandate Palestine): Numerous attacks and killings of Jews by Arab militants.
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1938 Tiberias Massacre (Tiberias, British Mandate Palestine): 19 Jews killed by Arab militants.
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1947 Aden Riots (Aden, British Protectorate): 82 Jews killed in riots.
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1947 Jerusalem Bus 20 Massacre (Jerusalem, British Mandate Palestine): 28 Jewish passengers killed in an ambush.
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1948 Kfar Etzion Massacre (Kfar Etzion, British Mandate Palestine): Approximately 120-150 Jewish fighters and civilians killed after surrender to Arab forces.
Attachment (file not included in this release)
On May 12 in Kfar Etzion, a few miles south of Jerusalem, more than one hundred Jewish defenders of the village surrendered to Arab forces, carrying white flags with them and emerging from their bunkers and trenches. The bulk of them assembled in an open area at the center of town. Arab soldiers “ordered [us] to sit and then stand and raise our hands,” recounted one of the Jewish soldiers. “Then a photographer with a kaffiya arrived and took photographs of us … When the photographer stopped taking pictures fire was opened up on us from all directions.” Almost all the men and women defenders of the village, 133 of them, were murdered or killed that day
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1954 Scorpion Pass Massacre (Ma’ale Akrabim, Israel): 11 Israeli passengers killed in an attack on a bus.
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1972 Munich Olympics Massacre (Munich, Germany): 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian terrorists.
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1972 Lod Airport Massacre (Lod, Israel): 26 people killed in an attack at the airport.
- Terrorist attack that occurred when three members of the Japanese Red army were recruited by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations, to attack Lod Airport, resulting in 26 people being killed and 80 others injured.
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1974 Ma’alot Massacre (Ma’alot, Israel): 25 hostages, including 22 children, killed in a school takeover.
- Palestinian terrorist attack that involved hostage-taking of 115 Israelis, mainly school children, which ended with 25 hostages and 6 other civilians dead.
- Began with three armed members of the DFLP, or the Democratic Front for he Liberation of Palestine.
- They infiltrated from Lebanon.
- The DFLP demanded the release of 23 Palestinian militants and 3 others from Israeli prisons, or else they would kill the students. The Israelis agreed, but the hostage-takers did not receive an expected message in time from Damascus.
- In response, Israel bombed DFLP and PFLP training bases. The BBC reported that the bombings inflicted damage in seven Palestinian refugee camps and villages in southern Lebanon, killing 27 and injuring 138.
- The DFLP tried a second time to take hostages at a hotel in Ma’alot in 1979, but were killed by Israeli soldiers.
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1974 Kiryat Shmona Massacre (Kiryat Shmona, Israel): 18 people, including 8 children, killed in an apartment building attack.
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1975 Savoy Hotel Attack (Tel Aviv, Israel): 8 civilian hostages and 3 soldiers killed in a hotel attack.
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1978 Coastal Road Massacre (Israel’s Coastal Highway): 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, killed in a bus hijacking.
- Palestinian militants coming in from Lebanon hijacked a bus on the Coastal Highway and murdered 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, with 76 more wounded.
- This attacked was planned by Abu Jihad, and carried out by Fatah.
- The goal of the attack was to disrupt Israeli-Egyptian peace talks.
- Israeli response was Operation Litani
- After 1968, Palestinian militant groups formed a quasi-state in southern Lebanon and used it to attack civilian targets in Israel.
- Israel entered Lebanon and began hunting PLO infantry and armor forces, though they did not succeed in engaging large numbers of them. Many Lebanese civilians were killed by heavy Israeli shelling and air strikes.
- The IDF military operation killed approximately 1,100 people. The IDF claims at least 550 of the casualties were Palestinian militants.
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1978 Gush Etzion Bus Ambush (Gush Etzion, West Bank): 37 civilians, including 12 children, killed in a bus attack.
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1984 Bus 300 Hijacking (Israel): 3 civilians killed in a bus hijacking.