May 30, 1972
The Lod Airport Massacre
Historical context
On May 30, 1972, three Japanese Red Army gunmen opened fire at Lod Airport, killing 26 people.
Archive record
Read the event, then follow its documented sources and archive threads.
- Date
- May 30, 1972
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 6
On this day, three members of the Japanese Red Army opened fire at Lod Airport, now Ben-Gurion Airport. The Jewish Virtual Library records that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine had recruited them. They killed 26 people and wounded about 80. Seventeen of the dead were Christian pilgrims from Puerto Rico, one was Canadian, and eight were Israeli, including the scientist Aharon Katzir.
Kozo Okamoto, Tsuyoshi Okudaira, and Yasuyuki Yasuda had arrived on an Air France flight from Rome. Two of the gunmen were killed. Okamoto was captured.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- The Lod Massacre · Jewish Virtual Library · Jewish Virtual Library View source
Share this history
Support the work
If this history matters to you, you can support Jewish Original.