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Wednesday’s attack that killed two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. is part of a long history of assaults against Israeli targets around the world.
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.
Sarah Lynn Milgrim, left, and Yaron Lischinsky, were about to be engaged. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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.
Crime Scene Attempted Assassination of Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Thursday 3rd June 1982; crime scene where Shlomo Argov was shot in the head as he got into his car after a banquet at the Dorchester Hotel, in Park Lane, London. Argov was not killed, but he was critically injured. (Bunny Atkins/Mirropix/Getty Images)
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.
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.
