The Savoy Operation 1975: Fatah's Response to Verdun in Tel Aviv

The Savoy operation was a fedayeen operation carried out by a group of eight Fatah fighters on the night of 5–6 March 1975, under the supervision of Khalil al-Wazir, “Abu Jihad.” The fighters reached the heart of Tel Aviv by sea from the Lebanese coast and took hostages at the Savoy Hotel to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners, in response to the assassination of the leaders Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser and Abu Youssef al-Najjar in the Verdun operation in Beirut. It ended with the storming of the hotel, the death of seven fedayeen and the capture of the eighth. [1] [2]

Read also: the Verdun operation; Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser and Abu Youssef al-Najjar; and Khalil al-Wazir “Abu Jihad”.

What was the Savoy operation?

The Savoy operation was among the boldest Palestinian fedayeen operations of the 1970s: its fighters reached Tel Aviv itself, near the Israeli General Staff headquarters at the “Kirya” [1]. It put the Israeli leadership on alert at the highest level, and a senior Israeli officer credited with a role in the Verdun operation was killed [1].

The Savoy operation at a glance

Timeline

In response to Verdun

On 10 April 1973 Israeli commando teams in Beirut assassinated three leaders of Fatah and the PLO – Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser and Abu Youssef al-Najjar – and in the same operation blew up the Democratic Front’s headquarters in Fakhani [1]. In response Khalil al-Wazir “Abu Jihad” planned an operation deep inside Israel, based on taking hostages to exchange for Palestinian prisoners [1] [2].

From the sea to Tel Aviv

The eight fedayeen set out from the Lebanese coast in two boats, and about 45 minutes before midnight on 5 March 1975 they reached the Tel Aviv shore, evading Israeli security measures [2] [1]. An Israeli police patrol opened fire on them, and the boat carrying the ammunition and explosives blew up [2]. Al Jazeera says the group was unable to reach the Ministry of War building, while Ultra Palestine says it tried to seize a well-known cinema but found its door locked [1] [2].

At the Savoy Hotel

The fedayeen stormed the Savoy Hotel, near the General Staff buildings, took hostages to an upper floor and booby-trapped the building [1] [2]. Two of them went out to seize more hostages and exchanged fire at the gate with an Israeli reserve soldier, who was killed [2].

Around 1 a.m. the Sayeret Matkal unit arrived. The fedayeen demanded the release of 20 prisoners, among them Archbishop Hilarion Capucci, within four hours, and a plane to take them, the hostages and the French ambassador to Syria [2] [1]. Negotiations went on for about three hours through a hostage who spoke Arabic, and the fedayeen released an elderly German hostage who had lost a leg [2]. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, War Minister Shimon Peres and Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur came to the scene and decided to reject the demands and storm the hotel [1].

The assault

The first and second assault attempts failed; the third succeeded at about 5:15 a.m., after soldiers were lowered by helicopter onto the roof and another force entered through a rear door, while tanks fired on the roof [1] [2]. Fighting raged through the rooms, and when the fedayeen ran out of ammunition they detonated the mines they had laid, causing heavy damage to the building [1] [2].

The toll

Seven of the fedayeen were killed, and the eighth, Musa Jum‘a, was captured wounded; he was later freed in a prisoner exchange [2] [1].

Accounts of Israeli losses vary: Al Jazeera’s encyclopedia speaks of around 100 soldiers and civilians killed or wounded, while the occupation authorities acknowledged 11 dead and 20 wounded [1]. According to Ultra Palestine, three soldiers of the assault force and eight civilians were killed [2]. Among the dead was Colonel Uzi Yairi, a senior Israeli military intelligence officer credited with a role in the Verdun operation [1].

The fighters

The operation was carried out by eight Fatah fedayeen from Palestinian towns and villages and from Jordan [2]:

• Khader Ahmad Jarram (“Lieutenant Khader”): Group commander; Ramla, 1947
• Omar Mahmoud Muhammad al-Shafi’i (“Abu al-Layl al-Hindi”): Jenin, 1955
• Ahmad Hamid Ahmad Abu Qamar (“Abu Ubaida al-Jarrah”): Gaza, 1948
• Abdullah Khalil Abdullah Kulaib (“Musalaha Khalil al-Hazza’”): Tulkarm, 1955
• Muhammad Diya al-Din al-Halawani (“Issam Baha al-Din al-Sayyufi”): Nablus, 1948
• Musa al-Abd Abu Thurayya (“Musa Azmi”): Gaza, 1957
• Nayef Najd Ismail al-Saghir (“Ziad Tariq”): Idhna, Hebron, 1954
• Musa Jum‘a Hassan (“Musa Ahmad”): Salt, 1952; the sole survivor

Remains in the cemeteries of numbers

The occupation held the remains of the seven martyrs in the “cemeteries of numbers,” under numbers 5005 to 5011, until the Palestinian Authority received them on 31 May 2012, 37 years after their deaths [3] [1].

Video

Real footage of the Savoy Hotel operation, which came in response to the assassination of three leaders in Beirut in what the occupation called the Verdun operation; the martyred leaders were Fatah Central Committee members Kamal Adwan, Abu Youssef al-Najjar and Kamal Nasser.

Frequently asked questions about the Savoy operation

What was the Savoy operation?

A fedayeen operation by eight Fatah fighters at the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv on the night of 5–6 March 1975, to take hostages and exchange them for Palestinian prisoners.

Why was the Savoy operation carried out?

In response to the assassination of the leaders Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser and Abu Youssef al-Najjar in the Verdun operation in Beirut in 1973.

Who planned the Savoy operation?

It was supervised by Khalil al-Wazir, “Abu Jihad.”

How did the fedayeen reach Tel Aviv?

By sea, in two boats that set out from the Lebanese coast.

What did the fedayeen demand?

The release of 20 prisoners, among them Archbishop Hilarion Capucci, and a plane to take them and the hostages to Syria.

Who survived among the fighters?

Musa Jum‘a Hassan, from Salt, who was captured wounded and later freed in a prisoner exchange.

When were the martyrs’ remains returned?

On 31 May 2012, after 37 years in the cemeteries of numbers.

Sources and references

Arabic-language sources are listed with translated titles.

1. “The Savoy Operation,” Al Jazeera Encyclopedia, 21 March 2015.
2. “Video: Details That Stayed Hidden About the Savoy Operation,” Ultra Palestine, 7 March 2017.
3. “Cemeteries of Numbers,” Palestinian National Information Center (WAFA).