Gunman kills Israeli embassy couple in Washington, following decades of embassy-targeted attacks
The victims, who were a soon-to-be-engaged couple, were identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Their murders happened outside the Capital Jewish Museum, after which the suspected shooter yelled, "Free, free Palestine!" and security officers apprehended him.
The shooting comes as tensions over Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip have drastically escalated this week amid growing humanitarian concerns, though it is not the first time since the war broke out following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that its D.C. embassy has been a target.
Since 1969, there have been at least 31 terror attacks targeting Israeli embassies and diplomatic staff across the globe. Here is a breakdown of some of the biggest incidents tracked by the Israeli government.
In February last year, an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, Aaron Bushnell, set himself on fire outside the embassy in an apparent act of protest.
The 25-year-old died, but no embassy staff were injured in the incident.
On Feb. 13, 2012, Delhi, India was the site of the last known attack on Israeli embassy personnel when a diplomatic vehicle was bombed, and one woman was seriously injured.
Dual suicide bombings outside the Israeli and American embassies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on July 30, 2004, killed the Israeli ambassador's personal bodyguard and four local policemen.
Roughly 100 rioters broke into the offices of the Israeli Consulate General in Berlin, Germany, on February 17, 1999, brandishing clubs, hammers, and iron bars before they took a woman hostage. Three of the perpetrators were killed during the attack.
A bomb detonated outside the Israeli Embassy in London on July 26, 1994, injuring several embassy staff.
In one of the largest ever attacks on an Israeli embassy, a bombing attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 17, 1992, injured some 300 people and killed 29 others, including nine Israeli embassy employees, as well as elderly residents of a nearby nursing home, and schoolchildren on a passing bus.
Just 10 days earlier, on March 7 in Ankara, Turkey, the security chief for the Israeli embassy, Ehud Sadan, was killed in a car bombing. Hezbollah and the Islamic Revenge Organization claimed responsibility.
On June 4, 1982, Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Shlomo Argov, was seriously wounded after he was shot in the head when leaving a diplomatic event in the center of London. Three perpetrators were apprehended and sentenced to up to 35 years in prison.
An assassination attempt was carried out on Israeli Ambassador Ephraim Eldar in Lisbon, Portugal on November 13, 1979. While the ambassador was wounded along with his chauffeur and a local policeman, a guard at the embassy was killed.
On December 28, 1972, the Israeli embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, was taken over by four terrorists and six embassy personnel were taken hostage. They were released a reported 19 hours later.
Yosef Alon, Israeli air force attaché to the embassy in Washington, D.C. was shot to death outside his home on July 1, 1973. The murder was believed to be in retaliation for Israel's killing of the leader of a terrorist group known as Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The Israeli Consul-General, Efraim Elrom, was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 28, 1971, by the Turkish Liberation Army.
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Two armed Palestinians broke into the Israeli Consulate in Asuncion, Paraguay, on May 4, 1970, and opened fire. An Israeli secretary, Edna Pe'er, was killed in the attack while a local worker was also injured.
On September 8, 1969, what appeared to be a coordinated bombing campaign targeted two Israeli embassies in the Hague in the Netherlands and in Bonn, Germany, as well as Israel's El Al airline in Brussels in an attack that occurred within minutes of each other.
Though no injuries were reported during the embassy attacks, three El Al employees and a customer were injured in the Brussels bombing.
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