Avivim school bus bombing

The Avivim school bus massacre was a terrorist attack on an Israeli school bus on May 22, 1970 in which 12 civilians were killed, nine of them children, and 25 were wounded, one of whom died of a wound sustained in the attack 44 years later. The attack took place on the road to Moshav Avivim, near Israel's border with Lebanon. Two rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) were fired at the bus.[2] The attack was one of the first carried out by the PFLP-GC.[1]

Avivim school bus massacre
Part of Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon
Avivim school bus massacre memorial.

The attack site
LocationNear Avivim
Date22 May 1970 (GMT+2)
TargetIsraeli school bus
Attack type
Ambush
WeaponsRocket propelled grenades, gunfire
Deaths12 (9 children)
Injured25
PerpetratorPFLP-GC[1]

Attack

Early in the morning, the bus departed from Avivim heading with its passengers to two local schools. This route had been scouted by the terrorists, believed to have infiltrated from Lebanon, and an ambush was set up. As the bus passed by, ten minutes after leaving Avivim, it was attacked by heavy gunfire from both sides of the road. The driver was among those hit in the initial barrage,[3] as were the two other adults on board. The three were killed as the bus crashed into an embankment as the attackers continued firing into the vehicle.

The attackers were never apprehended.

Fatalities

The children, who were in first to third grade, were buried in a special plot in Safed. A monument commemorating the victims of the attack stands in the middle of the moshav.[4]

  • Ester Avikezer, 23[5]
  • Yehuda Ohayon, 10[6]
  • Yafa Batito, 8[7]
  • Mimon Biton, 7[8]
  • Haviva Biton, 7[9]
  • Hanna Biton, 8[10]
  • Shimon Biton, 9[11]
  • Shulamit Biton, 9[12]
  • Makhlouf Biton, 28[13]
  • Aliza Peretz, 14[14]
  • Rami Yarkoni, 29[15]
  • Shimon Azran, 35[16]

Leah Revivo, who survived the attack at age nine, died in 2014 at age 52 from an infection brought on by a piece of shrapnel lodged in her brain as a result of the attack.[17]

Aftermath

Israel retaliated for the massacre by shelling four Lebanese villages, killing 20 people, injuring 40, and spurring thousands of southern Lebanon's residents to flee north.[18][19] This in turn provided one of the motivations for the Dawson's Field hijackings of 6 September 1970.[19] The IDF also began patrolling regularly inside southern Lebanon after the massacre.[18]

See also

References
  1. "PLO Strategy and Politics". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  2. "Moshav Avivim still stands determined during tensions". The Jerusalem Post – JPost.com. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  3. As history repeats
  4. A People Remember Moshav Center
  5. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - אסתר אביקזר ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  6. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - יהודה אוחיון ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  7. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - יפה בטיטו ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  8. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - מימון ביטון ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  9. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - חביבה ביטון ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  10. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - חנה ביטון ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  11. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - שמעון ביטון ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  12. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - שולמית ביטון ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  13. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - מכלוף ביטון ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  14. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - עליזה פרץ ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  15. "אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - רמי ירקוני גרינר ז"ל". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  16. "נזכור את כולם". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  17. https://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/02/israeli-mom-dies-of-shrapnel-infection-from-1970-school-bus-massacre
  18. "Righteous Victims". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  19. "Understanding Terrorist Innovation". Retrieved 16 December 2014.

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