Munich massacre — Palestinian terror attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany
The murder of 11 Israeli Olympic team members by Palestinian militants in 1972 prompted Israel's covert global assassination campaign against those responsible.
Key Facts
- Israeli athletes killed
- 11 (2 at village, 9 during rescue)
- West German police officer killed
- 1
- Black September members killed
- 5 of 8
- Surviving perpetrators released
- 3, via Lufthansa Flight 615 hijacking
- Prisoners demanded by attackers
- 328
- Operation name given by attackers
- Iqrit and Biram
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Eight members of the Palestinian militant group Black September infiltrated the Munich Olympic Village during the 1972 Summer Olympics, motivated by demands for the release of 328 Palestinian and non-Arab prisoners held in Israel and two Red Army Faction figures held in West Germany. The operation was named after Palestinian villages whose inhabitants had been expelled in 1948.
The attackers killed two Israeli team members and seized nine others as hostages. West German Bavarian Police launched a rescue operation that failed catastrophically, resulting in the deaths of all nine remaining hostages and one West German police officer. Five of the eight militants were killed; the other three were captured but later released in a hostage exchange following the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 615.
Israel launched a covert Mossad-led assassination campaign to eliminate all individuals involved in planning and executing the attack. The West German government faced significant criticism for mishandling the rescue attempt. Decades later, the IOC formally honoured the twelve victims at a ceremony ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a moment of silence was observed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Luttif Afif.
Side B
1 belligerent