1979 Nahariya attack
| 1979 Nahariya attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon | |
The rubber boat which the attackers used. | |
| Native name | הפיגוע בנהריה ב-1979 |
| Location | Nahariya, Israel |
| Coordinates | 33°0′51″N 35°5′29″E / 33.01417°N 35.09139°E |
| Date | 22 April 1979 |
Attack type | Shooting spree, Kidnapping |
| Deaths | 4 Israeli civilians, including 2 children (+ 2 attackers) |
| Perpetrator | Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) claimed responsibility. |
No. of participants | 4 |
The 1979 Nahariya attack (codenamed by its perpetrators as the Nasser Operation) was a raid by four Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) militants in Nahariya, Israel on 22 April 1979.
The group, consisting of Abdel Majeed Asslan, Mhanna Salim al-Muayed, and Ahmed al-Abras, and led by 16-year-old Samir Kuntar, used a small, 55 horsepower (41 kW) boat to travel from Tyre, Lebanon to Israel. During the attack they killed three Israelis, including a father and two of his young children. Another child was accidentally suffocated in efforts to hide her from the attackers. Kuntar and al-Abras were captured, convicted of murder by an Israeli court, and sentenced to several life sentences. Kuntar denied killing the civilians, saying they were killed by Israeli forces' fire. Both Kuntar and al-Abras were later set free in prisoner swap deals conducted between Israel and Lebanese militant organizations – al-Abras in 1985, and Kuntar in 2008.
In retaliation for the attack, Israeli forces bombarded a Palestinian refugee camp, killing three civilians.