Ben Gurion Airport: History Of Attacks And Security Measures

Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's largest airport, has been the target of several attacks over the years. The most notable incident was the Lod Airport massacre in 1972, where three terrorists recruited by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) carried out a deadly attack, killing 26 people and injuring 80 others. More recently, in 2024, the airport faced missile attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels, leading to temporary disruptions and raising concerns about the safety of the airport. These attacks have prompted responses from the Israeli military and heightened tensions in the region.

The Lod Airport massacre

On May 30, 1972, three members of the Japanese Red Army, recruited by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO), attacked Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion International Airport) near Tel Aviv. The three terrorists—Kōzō Okamoto, Tsuyoshi Okudaira, and Yasuyuki Yasuda—had been trained in Baalbek, Lebanon. They arrived at the airport on an Air France flight from Rome, dressed conservatively and carrying slim violin cases, which attracted little attention. Once they entered the waiting area, they opened their violin cases, extracted Czech vz. 58 assault rifles, and began firing indiscriminately at airport staff, visitors, and passengers. They also threw grenades as they changed magazines. The attack killed 26 people and injured 80 others.

The dead comprised 17 Christian pilgrims from Puerto Rico, a Canadian citizen, and eight Israelis, including Professor Aharon Katzir, an internationally renowned protein biophysicist. Katzir was the head of the Israeli National Academy of Sciences, a popular scientific radio show host, and a candidate in the upcoming Israeli presidential election. His brother, Ephraim Katzir, was elected President of Israel the following year.

Two of the attackers were killed, while a third, Kōzō Okamoto, was captured after being wounded by security and brought to the ground by an El Al employee as he attempted to leave the terminal. Whether the attackers were responsible for killing all of the victims has been disputed, as some victims may have been caught in the crossfire between the attackers and airport security.

The attack has often been described as a suicide mission, and it has been speculated that it was funded by a portion of the $5 million ransom paid by the West German government in exchange for the hostages of hijacked Lufthansa Flight 649 in February 1972. The use of Japanese attackers took the guards by surprise, as airport security was focused on the possibility of a Palestinian attack.

In June 2006, a legislative initiative by José Garriga Picó, then an at-large senator of Puerto Rico, was approved by a unanimous vote of both houses of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, making every 30 May 'Lod Massacre Remembrance Day'. The initiative was signed into law on 2 August 2006 by Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, making 30 May 2007, the 35th anniversary of the massacre, the first official 'Lod Massacre Remembrance Day' in Puerto Rico. The purpose of Lod Massacre Remembrance Day is to commemorate those events, to remember and honour both those murdered and those who survived, and to educate the Puerto Rican public against terrorism.

In recent years, Ben Gurion Airport has faced other threats. In 2024, the Houthis declared a blockade of the airport and claimed to have targeted it with missile attacks. These attacks were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Yemen and were intended to continue until the IDF withdrew from the Gaza Strip. While the Israeli Air Force successfully intercepted the missiles, the attacks caused concern and disruption.

The 1972 attack by three terrorists

On May 30, 1972, three terrorists—Kōzō Okamoto, Tsuyoshi Okudaira, and Yasuyuki Yasuda—perpetrated a massacre at what is now Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel, killing 26 people and injuring 78 to 80 others. The three terrorists, who were members of the Japanese Red Army, were recruited and trained by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO). They arrived at the airport aboard an Air France flight from Rome, dressed conservatively and carrying slim violin cases, which allowed them to attract little attention.

Once in the waiting area, they opened their violin cases, extracted Czech vz. 58 assault rifles, and began firing indiscriminately at airport staff, visitors, and passengers waiting for their luggage. Among those targeted was a group of Christian pilgrims from Puerto Rico, as well as a Canadian citizen and several Israelis. The attack resulted in the deaths of 17 Puerto Ricans, eight Israelis, and one Canadian. The Israelis killed included Professor Aharon Katzir, an internationally renowned protein biophysicist, radio show host, and candidate in the upcoming Israeli presidential election. His brother, Ephraim Katzir, was elected President of Israel the following year.

Two of the attackers, Okudaira and Yasuda, were killed during the attack. Okudaira was killed by one of his own grenades, either due to an accidental premature explosion or as a suicide. Meanwhile, Yasuda was accidentally shot dead by Okudaira. The third attacker, Okamoto, was shot and wounded by security before being arrested as he attempted to leave the terminal. He was brought down by an El Al employee and was the only attacker to survive.

Okamoto was tried by an Israeli military tribunal and sentenced to life imprisonment. During his trial, he actively undermined his own defence and protested his lawyer's requests for a psychiatric evaluation. He ultimately avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty and served only 13 years of his sentence before being released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange with the PFLP-GC.

Recent Houthi missile attacks

On 19 October 2023, the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, marking the beginning of the Red Sea crisis. This was the first Houthi attack on Israel, and it came in response to the Israel-Gaza conflict. The Houthis have since targeted dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, as well as Israeli ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab strait and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis have also declared a blockade of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, saying they would continue firing missiles at the airport until the IDF withdraws from the Gaza Strip. In December 2024, the Houthis claimed to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport, but the IDF stated that the missile was intercepted before it reached Israeli airspace. More recently, in March 2025, the Houthis again targeted the airport three times in two days. All of the recent missile launches were successfully intercepted by the Israeli Air Force.

The Houthis' attacks have drawn a military response from several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, which have led coalition air and missile strikes against the Houthis. Despite these bombings, the Houthis have continued their attacks, including on American naval ships in the Red Sea.

Israeli airstrikes on Yemen

On December 26, 2024, Israel launched airstrikes on Yemen, targeting the international airport in Sanaa, an air base, power stations, and ports. The World Health Organization's director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was at the airport in Sanaa when it was hit and a crew member was injured. Israel's army later told The Associated Press that they were unaware of the WHO chief's presence at the location.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes in Yemen targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed that Israeli strikes on Yemen would continue, stating that Israel's aim in Yemen was the elimination of the Houthi threat. Netanyahu described the Houthis as a "terrorist entity in Iran's axis of evil".

The Houthis, an Iran-backed armed group that controls part of Yemen, have also been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. They have declared an aerial blockade of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, saying they would continue firing missiles at the airport until the IDF withdraws from the Gaza Strip.

The U.N. has said that the targeted ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid for Yemen, which is the poorest Arab nation and has been plagued by civil war since 2014. The conflict has resulted in casualties on both sides, with the Houthis claiming lives in Tel Aviv and Israel inflicting damage on Sanaa and Hodeida.

The 2024 missile attack

On 27 December 2024, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed to have fired a missile at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. This attack came a day after Israeli warplanes attacked Sana'a airport in the Yemeni capital, killing four people and wounding around 20 travellers and staff.

The Houthis said they launched a ballistic missile attack targeting Ben Gurion Airport, and that it had "succeeded in reaching its target". However, Israel's military said it had successfully intercepted the missile before it crossed into Israeli territory, and there were no reports of impacts or casualties. Arrivals at the airport were suspended for around 30 minutes.

The Houthis also claimed to have carried out a drone attack in the Tel Aviv area and targeted a container vessel in the Arabian Sea. They said that Israeli "aggression will only increase the determination and resolve of the great Yemeni people to continue supporting the Palestinian people".

In response to the Houthi attack, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed that Israeli strikes on Yemen would continue, stating that their aim was the elimination of the Houthi threat, which he called a "terrorist entity in Iran's axis of evil".

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