# The Coastal Road Massacre (11 March 1978)

URL: https://allhistories.com/israel/timeline/1978-the-coastal-road-massacre
Themes: Key Events

On 11 March 1978 eleven Fatah militants led by 18-year-old Dalal Mughrabi landed by boat on the Israeli coast from Lebanon, killed an American tourist on a beach and hijacked a bus on the Coastal Highway near Haifa, later seizing a second bus bound for Tel Aviv. After a long chase and gun battle, 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, were killed and 76 were wounded. The attack was planned by the senior Fatah commander Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad). The militants' original aim was to seize a luxury hotel in Tel Aviv and take tourists and foreign ambassadors hostage in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but a navigational error landed them about 64 kilometres north of their target. According to Time magazine, the timing was intended to undermine the peace talks between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. Fatah named the operation after Kamal Adwan, a PLO leader killed in an Israeli commando raid in April 1973. Israeli intelligence had received warning of the plan, and naval commandos had raided the group's base at Damour a week earlier without eliminating the whole squad. The attack remained the deadliest in Israel's history until the Nova music festival massacre of 2023. Three days later Israel launched Operation Litani against PLO bases in southern Lebanon.

## Why it matters
The Coastal Road massacre was the direct trigger for Israel's first large-scale invasion of Lebanon.

Ruler at the Time: [Ephraim Katzir](https://allhistories.com/israel/rulers/ephraim-katzir)

Prime Minister: Menachem Begin (Likud)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Coastal road massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_road_massacre)
- [Wikipedia — 1978 South Lebanon conflict](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_South_Lebanon_conflict)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Coastal Road massacre](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Coastal+Road+massacre)