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Encyclopedia > 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon
Operation Spring of Youth
Part of the Operation Wrath of God
Date April 910, 1973
Location Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon
Result
Casus
belli
Munich Olympics Massacre
Combatants
Sayeret Matkal PLO
Strength
25,000 unknown
Casualties
2 KIA 12-100 KIA
3 civilian casualties
Israel-Lebanon conflict
1948 Arab-Israeli War1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon1978 South Lebanon conflict1982 Lebanon War – 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict – 2006 Lebanon War

The 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon (code-named Operation Spring of Youth) took place on the night of April 9 and early morning of April 10, 1973 when Israel Defense Forces special forces units attacked several PLO targets in Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon. This raid was part of the larger Operation Wrath of God, which aimed at avenging the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre, and had a shocking effect on the PLO. The operation was ordered in response to the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... For other uses, see Beirut (disambiguation). ... , Sidon or Saida, (Arabic صيدا á¹¢aydā) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. ... Casus belli is a modern Latin language expression meaning the justification for acts of war. ... One of the Black September terrorists on the balcony of the Israeli team quarters at the Olympic village The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian organization Black September, a militant group... Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel. ... Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכל, translation: General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). ... The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Arabic Munazzamat al-Tahrir Filastiniyyah منظمة تحرير فلسطينية ) is a political and paramilitary organization of Palestinian Arabs dedicated to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state to consist of the... Combatants Lebanon, Hezbollah, PLO Israel, SLA Israel-Lebanon conflict describes a series of related military clashes involving Israel, Lebanon, and various non-state militias acting from within Lebanon. ... Combatants  Israel Egypt, Syria, Transjordan,  Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army Commanders Yaakov Dori, Yigael Yadin Glubb Pasha, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Hasan Salama, Fawzi Al-Qawuqji Strength  Israel: 29,677 initially rising to 115,000 by March 1949 Egypt: 10,000 initially rising... The 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon (code-named Operation Gift) was a Israel Defense Forces commando operation in Beirut International Airport on the night of December 28 - 29 1968. ... Combatants Israel South Lebanon Army PLO Strength 25,000 10,000 Casualties 20 9,800 The 1978 South Lebanon conflict (code-named Operation Litani by Israel) was the name of the Israel Defense Forces 1978 invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani River. ... Combatants Israel Phalange South Lebanon Army Amal PLO Syria Commanders Menachem Begin (Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon, (Ministry of Defence) Rafael Eitan, (CoS) Yasser Arafat Strength 76,000 37,000 Casualties 670 9,800 The 1982 Lebanon War (Hebrew: , Milkhemet Levanon, Milkhemet Levanon, Arabic: ‎), called by Israel the Operation Peace of... Combatants Hezbollah Israel South Lebanon Army Casualties 8000+ 1600+ During the 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict Hezbollah waged a guerrilla campaign against Israeli forces occupying Southern Lebanon. ... Combatants Hezbollah Amal[1] LCP[2] PFLP-GC[3]  Israel Commanders Hassan Nasrallah Imad Mughniyeh[4] Dan Halutz Moshe Kaplinsky[11] Udi Adam Strength 600-1,000 active fighters 3,000-10,000 reservists[5] 30,000 ground troops (plus IAF & ISC)[12] Casualties Hezbollah militia: Dead: ~250 (Hezbollah claim... April 9 is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Israel Defense Forces are part of the Israeli Security Forces. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Arabic Munazzamat al-Tahrir Filastiniyyah منظمة تحرير فلسطينية ) is a political and paramilitary organization of Palestinian Arabs dedicated to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state to consist of the... For other uses, see Beirut (disambiguation). ... , Sidon or Saida, (Arabic صيدا á¹¢aydā) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. ... The operation was ordered in response to the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... One of the Black September terrorists on the balcony of the Israeli team quarters at the Olympic village The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian organization Black September, a militant group...


The Israeli Sayeret Matkal forces arrived at the Lebanese beaches in Zodiac boats launched from missile ships offshore. Mossad agents awaited the forces on the beaches with cars rented the previous day, and then drove them to their targets and later back to the beaches for extraction. Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכל, translation: General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). ... Zodiac Group is a diversified corporation with a worldwide presence and a blue-chip stock specialising in the production of aerosafety systems, aircraft systems, airline equipment, airbags, remote transmissions, boats and swimming pools. ...   (Hebrew: המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations), often referred to as The Mossad (meaning The Institute), is Israels intelligence agency and is responsible for intelligence collection, counter-terrorism, covert operations such as paramilitary activities, and the facilitation of aliyah where it is banned. ...


During the operation, three PLO leaders, surprised at home, were killed, along with other PLO personnel (reports of actual number killed vary from a dozen to 100). Several Lebanese security people and civilian neighbors were also killed. Two of the attackers were killed by the defending forces.

Contents

Main target

The main target was a pair of seven-story buildings in the fashionable neighborhood of Verdun in West Beirut. These buildings were residential housing for both British and Italian families amongst other Arab families. The building housing Muhammad Youssef Al-Najjar (Abu Youssef) had two British families and was next door to a boarding school run by the Catholic Salesian order. The second seven story building was on the opposite side of the road and was residential. This building housed an Italian family amongst other Arab families. There were two targets in this building, Kamal Adwan and Kamal Nasser. The Italian grandmother was killed in this building by the Israeli forces who stormed the wrong apartment at first.


The team attacking the target was mostly based on Sayeret Matkal commandos, led by then unit-commander Ehud Barak. (Barak later became IDF Chief of Staff and subsequently Prime Minister). The attacking team also included Yonatan Netanyahu, who became unit commander two years later and became known for leading the hostage rescue operation in Entebbe in which he died. The team approached the buildings disguised as civilians and couples (Barak was disguised as a brunette). In the building, the team killed three PLO leaders: Ehud Barak (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בָּרָק) (born Ehud Brog on February 12, 1942, in Mishmar HaSharon kibbutz,[1] then British Mandate of Palestine) is an Israeli politician and was the 10th Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001. ... Insignia of the Rav Aluf The Ramatkal (Hebrew: רמטכל, abbr. ... The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: ראש הממשלה, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants  Israel  PFLP Revolutionäre Zellen  Uganda Commanders Yonatan Netanyahu† Wadie Haddad Wilfried Böse Idi Amin Strength 29 Commandos Unknown Casualties Yonatan Netanyahu killed three hostages killed five commandos wounded 6 hijackers killed 45 Ugandan soldiers killed Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe incident and sometimes the Entebbe...

  • Muhammad Youssef Al-Najjar (Abu Youssef) - a PLO veteran, previously head of the Lebanese Fatah branches, head of Fatah internal intelligence organization. His latest duties were head of the PLO's political department and one of Yasser Arafat's deputies (third in line of Fatah's leadership). His wife was shot as she ran to shelter her sons.
  • Kamal Adwan - A veteran Fatah leader. Responsible for armed resistance activities against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
  • Kamal Nasser - PLO spokesman and member of the PLO Executive Committee.

During the operation, an Italian woman who resided in the building was also killed, as well as two Lebanese policemen. Muhammad Youssef Al-Najjar (-April 10, 1973), commonly known as Abu Youssef, was a Palestinian militant. ... Fatah (Arabic: ); a reverse acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (literally: Palestinian National Liberation Movement) is a major secular Palestinian political party and the largest organization in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a generally secular multi-party confederation. ... Not to be confused with Yasir Arafat (cricketer). ... Writer; edited the militant newspaper Al-Jil al-Jadid (The New Era) in the 1960s; PLO spokesman in Beirut; killed by an Israeli raid in Beirut on April 10, 1973. ...


Secondary targets

A separate nearby target was a multi-story building which housed activists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The attacking team had 14 commandos, mainly Sayeret Tzanhanim Commando paratroopers led by Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who later succeeded Barak as IDF Chief of Staff. The attacking team met strong resistance early on, and two of its soldiers were killed. Despite this resistance, the force was able to bomb the building. Lipkin-Shahak was also decorated for bravery for his conduct in this operation. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Paratroopers Brigade (חטיבת הצנחנים) is a unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). ... Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (Hebrew: אמנון ליפקין-שחק, born March 18th, 1944) was the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, and later Israeli Minister of Tourism and Transport. ...


Other targets were blown up after having been searched for papers and other intelligence materials. These targets were attacked by the Israeli Navy, especially Shayetet 13 commandos: Shayetet 13 ( שייטת 13 ) is the Israeli naval commando elite special forces unit. ...

  • The headquarters of the Fatah's Gaza sector and a workshop which assembled rockets and mines near the Beirut International Airport.
  • Another workshop in the north-eastern part of Beirut assembling rockets and mines.
  • PLO vehicle garage north of Sidon.

Terminal Overview Beirut International Airport is an airport located in Beirut, Lebanon. ...

See also

The following is a list of assassinations known or believed to have been conducted by Israel. ... Munich is a 2005 drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth which depicts the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Black September gunmen, and the Israeli governments secret retaliation assassinations (see Background and planning of Operation Wrath of God). ...

External links

  • Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-28716-2
  • "Jewish Virtual Library": Detailed Israeli viewpoint and eyewitness accounts
  • "Journal of Counterterrorism & Security International": Includes background material on the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre and Israel's hunt for its perpetrators.
  • "CBS News: An Eye For An Eye" Includes short testimonies by Barak and Adwan's daughter.
  • "Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem": History of IDF operations vs. Palestinians from a Palestinian viewpoint, including this operation.


 

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