This is a list of massacres that have occurred in Israel after the 1948 Palestine War.
For massacres that have occurred in Roman Judea prior to the establishment of the Roman province of Syria Palæstina, see List of massacres in Roman Judea. For massacres that took place prior to the British Mandate, see List of massacres in Ottoman Syria. For massacres that took place in Mandatory Palestine, see List of killings and massacres in Mandatory Palestine. For massacres that took place during the 1948 Palestine War, see Killings and massacres during the 1948 Palestine War. For massacres that have occurred in the West Bank and Gaza since 1948, see List of massacres in Palestine.
NameDateLocationResponsible PartyDeathsNotesYehud attack12 October 1953Yehud, IsraelPalestinian fedayeen3 (Israeli)A cross-border infiltration unit threw a grenade into a civilian home, killing a woman and two children.Ma'ale Akrabim massacre16–17 March 1954Scorpions PassUnknown; Arab Bedouins suspected"When Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in 1956, two years later, considerable evidence was found that the Scorpion Pass incident was the work of Arab Bedouins", Political Affairs By Trade Union Educational League, Political Affairs Publications, 1967, pg. 1511Rosalyn Higgins (1981) United Nations Peacekeeping, 1946–1967: Documents and Commentary under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs by Oxford University Press, pp. 121–1222 injuredShafrir synagogue shooting11 April 1956Kfar Chabad (Shafrir), IsraelPalestinian fedayeen6 (Israeli)Palestinian militants infiltrated from Egypt and opened fire inside a synagogue study hall filled with children and teenagers, killing five children and a youth instructor.Beersheba - Eilat Road shooting attack23 April 1956Beersheba–Eilat road, IsraelPalestinian fedayeen4 (Israeli)Infiltrators from Jordan ambushed a civilian vehicle traveling along the Beersheba–Eilat road, killing four Israeli employees of the national water authority.The Line 361 Bus Attack 195616 August 1956Near Be'er Menucha, Arava, IsraelPalestinian fedayeen4 (Israeli)A group of infiltrators from Jordan ambushed an Egged bus and its IDF escort vehicle on the road to Eilat. Four people were killed and nine others wounded in the shooting and subsequent close-range assault.Ein Ofarim killings12 September 1956Ein Ofarim, near Hatzeva, IsraelPalestinian fedayeen3 (Israeli Druze)Palestinian fedayeen infiltrated from Jordan attacked the Ein Ofarim oil-drilling camp near Hatzeva, killing three Druze watchmen. The victims were stabbed and their weapons stolen by the attackers.Ramat Rachel shooting attack23 September 1956Near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, IsraelJordanian Arab Legion4 (Israeli)Jordanian Legion soldiers opened machine-gun fire from positions across the border on a group of Israeli archaeologists working at an excavation site near Ramat Rachel, killing four and wounding sixteen others.Negev desert road ambush4 October 1956Highway 25, Negev Desert, IsraelPalestinian fedayeen5 (Israeli)A squad of Palestinian fedayeen infiltrated from Jordan and ambushed two civilian vehicles traveling on the Sodom–Beersheba road, killing five Israeli civilians and wounding another.Kafr Qasim massacre29 October 1956Kafr QasimIsrael Border Police4723 children were among the victims. Israeli President Shimon Peres issued a formal apology in December 2007.President Peres apologizes for Kafr Qasem massacre of 1956 Haaretz, 21 December 20071956 Sderot Mining Attack5 November 1956Sderot, southern IsraelPalestinian fedayeen5 (Israeli)Palestinian fedayeen infiltrators planted a landmine near Sderot, which detonated when a horse-drawn cart carrying five young laborers struck it while traveling to work at agricultural fields near Ibim. All five occupants were killed in the explosion during the final stages of the Sinai War.September 1961 Gaza border incident17–18 September 1961near the Gaza–Israel borderIsrael Border Police5 All five of the victims are Israeli Arabs.Avivim school bus bombing8 May 1970 near AvivimPopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command1225 wounded; 9 victims were childrenLod Airport massacre30 May 1972LodThree members of the Japanese Red Army, on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine26"In what became known as the Lod Airport Massacre three members of the terrorist group, Japanese Red Army, arrived at the airport aboard Air France Flight 132 from Rome. Once inside the airport they grabbed automatic firearms from their carry-on cases and fired at airport staff and visitors. In the end, 26 people died and 80 people were injured." CBC News, The Fifth Estate, "Fasten Your Seatbelts: Ben Gurion Airport in Israel", 2007. Accessed 2 June 2008.80 injuredKiryat Shmona massacre11 April 1974Kiryat Shmona, IsraelPopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command18Modern Israel & the Diaspora (1970-1979) Jewish Virtual Library8 victims were children; 15 injuredMa'alot massacreSources describing the event as a "massacre": "The day after the Ma'alot massacre, condemned by Pope Paul VI and most Western leaders as 'an evil outrage...'" Frank Gervasi. Thunder Over the Mediterranean, McKay, 1975, p. 443. "The previous day Israel had been traumatized by the Ma'alot massacre, which had resulted in the deaths of numerous schoolchildren." William B. Quandt. Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Since 1967, Brookings Institution Press, 2001, p. 432. "Faced with a public outcry over the Ma'alot massacre, they demanded of Syria a pledge to forbid terrorist to cross the Golan into Israel." Milton Viorst. Sands of Sorrow: Israel's Journey from Independence, I.B. Tauris, 1987, p. 192. "...Organization (PLO) crimes, like the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972 and the Ma'alot massacre of children in 1974." Richard J. Chasdi. Tapestry of Terror: A Portrait of Middle East Terrorism, 1994–1999, Lexington Books, 2002, p. 6. "The PFLP was responsible for the Ma'alot massacre on May IS, 1974 during which 22 Israeli children were killed." Alex Peter Schmid, A. J. Jongman, Michael Stohl. Political Terrorism: A New Guide to Actors, Authors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories, & Literature, Transaction Publishers, 2005, p. 639. "On 22 November 1974, six months after the Ma'alot massacre, the United Nations General Assembly voted to accept the Palestine Liberation Organisation as an..." Martin Gilbert. The Jews in the Twentieth Century: An Illustrated History, Schocken Books, 2001, p. 327. Khoury, Jack. "U.S. filmmakers plan documentary on Ma'alot massacre" , Haaretz, 7 March 2007.15 May 1974Ma'alotMayhew, Iain. "Israel’s Front Line Children", Daily Mirror, 10 August 2006.Democratic Front for the Liberation of PalestineKhoury, Jack. "U.S. filmmakers plan documentary on Ma'alot massacre" , Haaretz, 7 March 2007.29"Bullets, Bombs and a Sign of Hope", TIME, 27 May 1974.68 injured; victims were mostly childrenZion Square massacre4 July 1975JerusalemPalestine Liberation Organization1577 woundedCoastal Road massacre11 March 1978near Tel AvivPalestine Liberation Organization38"1978, March 11. The Coastal Road Massacre" Richard Ernest Dupuy, Trevor Nevitt Dupuy. The Encyclopedia of Military History from 3500 BC. to the Present, Harper & Row, 1986, , p. 1362.38 people were killed on bus. Victims include 13 children. Other people killed nearby. 71 wounded.Rishon LeZion Massacre20 May 1990Rishon LeZionAmi Popper, an Israeli citizen7 Chicago Tribune (21 May 1990, p.1 and 6)Seven Palestinian workers were killed, 16 Palestinians were wounded. The perpetrator was a 21-year-old Israeli with an automatic weapon. 13 more Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in subsequent demonstrations to protest the massacre in various parts of the territories.Massacres Against Palestinians (visited 21 March 2015)Dizengoff Street bus bombing19 October 1994 Tel Aviv, Israel Hamas22Suicide bomber blows himself up in a bus during the morning rush hour at Dizengoff street, Tel Aviv. Killing 22 people and injuring 50 others. Hamas claimed responsibility.Beit Lid suicide bombing"But after the Beit Lid massacre, the government approved the construction and sale of 4000 units in occupied land around Jerusalem." Beyer, Lisa. "Can Peace Survive", Time, 6 February 1995."When Arafat called Rabin to express his condolences on the Beit Lid massacre, the prime minister was understandably furious." Karsh, Efraim, Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest, Grove Press, 2003, p. 116. "The reaction of peace processors in Jerusalem and Washington to the Beit Lid massacre, in which Islamic suicide bombers wiped out a score of Israelis, has been shock, anger, sorrow -- but a determination that terrorist attacks not be allowed to stop the peace process." Safire, William. "Essay; Responding to Terror", The New York Times, 26 January 1995.22 January 1995Beit Lid JunctionPalestinian Islamic Jihad23Death toll includes 2 perpetrators; 69 injured; first suicide attack by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing9 August 2001JerusalemHamas15130 injured; 7 victims were childrenDolphinarium discotheque bombing1 June 2001Tel AvivHamas21100+ wounded2002 Hadera attackBat mitzvah massacre in Israel leaves seven dead, Phil Reeves, 18 January 200218 January 2002Haderaal-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades733 woundedYeshivat Beit Yisrael bombing2 March 2002Beit Yisrael, JerusalemFatah al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades11Suicide bombing in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood i Victims included 7 children, 2 of which were infantsCafé Moment bombing9 March 2002JerusalemIzz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades1154 woundedPassover massacreSources describing the incident as the "Passover massacre":
"Alleged Passover massacre plotter arrested", CNN, 26 March 2008. Ohad Gozani, "Hotel blast survivors relive the Passover massacre", The Daily Telegraph, 29 March 2002. "This reached a peak following the Passover massacre in the seaside resort of Netanya..." David Newman, "The consequence or the cause? Impact on the Israel-Palestine Peace Process", in Mary E. A. Buckley, Mary Buckley, Rick Fawn. Global Responses to Terrorism: 9/11, the War in Afghanistan, and Beyond, Routledge, 2003, , p. 158. "They faced stiff resistance from Palestinian gunmen who began preparing the camp's defenses as early as the Passover massacre in Netanya..." Todd C. Helmus, Russell W. Glenn. Steeling the Mind: Combat Stress Reactions and Their Implications for Urban Warfare Rand Corporation, 2005, , p. 58.