Operation Savoy was a military operation conducted by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in which dozens of Israeli officers were killed. While there is no precise number of casualties, estimates range from 50 to 100 Israeli soldiers and officers killed, with over 150 soldiers and officers wounded, including Colonel Uzi Yairi, one of the top intelligence officers who led Operation Spring of Youth that resulted in the assassination of three leaders. The operation was carried out in retaliation for the assassination of Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser, and Abu Yusuf al-Najjar.
Course of the Operation:
In response to Operation Spring of Youth, Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad) planned an operation against the Israeli side. Two groups of Palestinian resistance fighters sailed to Tel Aviv, bypassing security measures, and reached the Savoy Hotel where they held a number of hostages and demanded the release of prisoners from Israeli prisons. Israeli leadership, including Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Defense Minister Shimon Peres, and Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur, was mobilized to the scene. The Israeli leadership decided to reject the demands and the Israeli special forces unit began to attack the hotel. The first assault failed, and the Israeli forces were unsuccessful in the second attempt. They then deployed troops by helicopters to the roof of the hotel followed by inserting forces from the rear doors who opened heavy fire and used tanks to fire on the hotel roof. The confrontation continued until the ammunition of the Palestinian group was depleted.
Perpetrators of the Operation:
Khader Ahmad Jaram (Lieutenant Khader), the group's leader, born in al-Ramla in 1947.
Omar Mahmoud Muhammad al-Shafe'i (Abu al-Layl al-Hindi), born in Jenin in 1955.
Ahmed Hameed Ahmed Abu Qamar (Abu Ubaida al-Jarrah), born in Gaza in 1948.
Abdullah Khalil Abdullah Kalib (Reconciliation Khalil al-Hazaa), born in Tulkarm in 1955.
Muhammad Diaa al-Din al-Halawani (Issam Bahaa al-Din al-Sayfi), born in Nablus in 1948.
Musa al-Abad Abu Tharia (Musa Azmi), born in Gaza in 1957.
Naif Najid Ismail al-Saghir (Ziyad Tareq), born in Adna - Hebron in 1954.
Musa Juma Hasan (Musa Ahmed), born in Salt in 1952, the sole survivor.
Return of the Resistance Group's Bodies:
Israel held the bodies in numbered graves until 2012. Their bodies were later buried in the same tomb in the cemetery of Ramallah city.
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