Date March 12, 2002 | Non-fatal injuries 1 Israeli civilian | |
 | ||
Location Near kibbutz Matzuva, Israel Attack type Ambush, Shooting attack Deaths 5 Israeli civilians and 1 Israeli soldier (+2 attackers) Perpetrators Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility | ||
The Matzuva attack was a terrorist attack on March 12, 2002 in which two Islamic Jihad militants who infiltrated Israel from Lebanon opened fire on civilian vehicles traveling on the Shlomi-Matzuva road. Six Israelis were killed in the attack and one injured.
Contents
The attack
On March 12, 2002 two Islamic Jihad militants crossed the border, reached a mountain overlooking the Shlomi-Matzuva road, and began firing small arms and throwing hand grenades 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 Matzuva was injured.
The attackers were killed in battle with Israeli security forces.
The perpetrators
Initially Israeli intelligence officials believed that the attack was organized by Hezbollah, although Hezbollah did not confirm this. 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, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad at that time, was blown up in his car in Sidon. 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.