Egged bus 391 ambush
Encyclopedia
The 1956 Eilat bus ambush was an attack on an Egged bus traveling from Tel-Aviv to Eilat on August 16, 1956. The Israel
i civilian bus was ambushed by a Fedayeen
squad on August 16, 1956. Four passengers were killed and three were injured.
Fedayeen
squad infiltrated into Israel from Jordan
. The militants reached Be'er Menucha in the Arava
region and prepared an ambush
in a ditch on the side of the road.
Around noon, the weekly Egged bus #391 from Tel-Aviv to Eilat, escorted by an IDF military vehicle, was attacked by gunfire as it passed Be'er Menucha. Three Israeli soldiers and a female civilian were killed. In addition, three civilian passengers were injured.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i civilian bus was ambushed by a Fedayeen
Fedayeen
Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...
squad on August 16, 1956. Four passengers were killed and three were injured.
The attack
On Thursday, 16 August 1956, a PalestinianPalestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
Fedayeen
Fedayeen
Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...
squad infiltrated into Israel from Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. The militants reached Be'er Menucha in the Arava
Arabah
The Arabah , also known as Aravah, is a section of the Great Rift Valley running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south where it ends at the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the...
region and prepared an ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
in a ditch on the side of the road.
Around noon, the weekly Egged bus #391 from Tel-Aviv to Eilat, escorted by an IDF military vehicle, was attacked by gunfire as it passed Be'er Menucha. Three Israeli soldiers and a female civilian were killed. In addition, three civilian passengers were injured.
External links
- Four Israelis Die In Ambush - The StarPhoenix, August 16, 1956