A Black September hostage siege at the Israeli embassy in Bangkok ended peacefully after 19 hours, with militants flown to Egypt.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 December 1972
- Hostages taken
- 6 Israeli embassy staff
- Attackers
- 4 Palestinian militants
- Organization
- Black September
- Duration of siege
- 19 hours
- Resolution
- Militants flown to Egypt
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Black September, a Palestinian militant organization responsible for multiple attacks on Israeli targets during the early 1970s, dispatched a four-man squad to Bangkok as part of a broader campaign of violence against Israeli embassies and diplomatic personnel worldwide.
On 28 December 1972, four Black September militants stormed the Israeli embassy building in Bangkok, seizing six Israeli staff members as hostages. Over the course of 19 hours, Thai authorities conducted negotiations with the attackers inside the embassy compound.
The crisis was resolved without loss of life when the militants agreed to release the hostages in exchange for safe passage to Egypt. The incident was one of several attacks on Israeli diplomatic missions during this period and highlighted vulnerabilities in embassy security globally.