The Matzuva attack was a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

attack on March 12, 2002 in which two Islamic Jihad militants who infiltrated

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

opened fire on civilian vehicles traveling on the Shlomi-

Matzuva Matzuva ( he, מַצּוּבָה), also known as Metzuba, is a kibbutz in the Western Galilee in northern Israel. Located to the south of the development town of Shlomi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In it had ...

road. Six

Israelis Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים‎, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jew ...

were killed in the attack and one injured.

The attack

On March 12, 2002 two Islamic Jihad militants crossed the border, reached a mountain overlooking the Shlomi-

road, and began firing

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

and throwing

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

s at vehicles traveling on the road, including a civilian commuter bus. Five Israeli civilians and an Israeli army officer were killed and a member of Kibbutz

was injured. The attackers were killed in battle with Israeli security forces.

Fatalities

The perpetrators

Initially Israeli intelligence officials believed that the attack was organized by

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

, although Hezbollah did not confirm this.Fatal Attack Shatters Israeli Border Town's Calm
New York Times, 14 March 2002 Following the signing of the trade agreement between Lebanon and the European Union in 2002, Hezbollah had agreed not to commit any attacks across the international border between Israel and Lebanon. In 2004, Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attack. In May 2006,

Mahmoud al-Majzoub Mahmoud al-Majzoub also known as ''Abu Hamza'' (c. 1965 – May 26, 2006) was a top Palestinian Islamic Jihad official and a senior leader of the group. He was also a liaison officer who had strong ties to Iran's IRGC and Hezbollah. He was killed i ...

, leader of the

Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist par ...

at that time, was blown up in his car in

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

. There were speculations that the hit was a response to the 2002 Matzuva attack, but Israel has not taken responsibility for al-Majzoub's death.

References

External links

MIDEAST TURMOIL: LEBANON FRONT; Fatal Attack Shatters Israeli Border Town's Calm
- published in

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

on March 14, 2002
Mother, daughter from Kibbutz Hanita among ambush victims
- published in the

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

on March 13, 2002
Terrorists slay 6 in Galilee attack. Area residents confined to homes
- published in the

on March 13, 2002 {{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 2000s Mass murder in 2002 Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups Palestinian terrorism Spree shootings in Israel Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2002 March 2002 events in Asia

The attack

Fatalities

The perpetrators

See also

References

External links