Maxim restaurant suicide bombing

Maxim restaurant suicide bombing
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign
The Maxim restaurant in 2009
The attack site
Location	Haifa, Israel
Coordinates	32°48′46″N 34°57′20″E / 32.81278°N 34.95556°E / 32.81278; 34.95556
Date	October 4, 2003
Attack type	suicide bombing
Deaths	21 civilians (and 1 bomber)
Non-fatal injuries	51
Perpetrators	1 Palestinian (Hanadi Jaradat). Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Maxim restaurant suicide bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on October 4, 2003 in the beachfront "Maxim" restaurant in Haifa, Israel. 21 people were killed in the attack and 51 were injured. Among the victims were two families and four children, including a two-month-old baby.

The restaurant, which is located at the seafront near the southern boundary of the city of Haifa, was frequently attended by both Arab and Jewish local populations, and was widely seen as a symbol of peaceful coexistence in Haifa.

Militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. It was condemned by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The restaurant's interior was destroyed by the blast (it was completely rebuilt seven months after the attack).

The Maxim restaurant is a beachfront restaurant located near the south entry to Haifa. It is co-owned by Jews and Christian Arabs, and is known for being a symbol of co-existence. The restaurant is also the favorite dining place of the famous Israeli football club Maccabi Haifa.

On October 4, 2003, the 28-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat detonated the explosive belt she was wearing inside the Arab-Jewish Maxim restaurant in Haifa. 21 Israelis (18 Jews and 3 Arabs) were killed, and 51 others were wounded. The bomb included metal fragments packed around the explosive core, that sprayed around the restaurant, maximizing lethal effect. According to Haifa police sources, the aftermath was gruesome, with some of the dead still sitting upright at their tables, while others, including children and babies, were slammed against the walls. Due to the force of the explosion, all that remained of Jaradat was her head.

Among the victims were two families and four children, including a two-month-old baby. Three Maccabi Haifa officials were lightly injured in the bombing.

Five members of the Almog family:

Five members of the Zer-Aviv family:

The suicide bomber, 28-year-old Hanadi Jaradat from Jenin, (Arabic: هنادي تيسير عبدالمالك جردات‎‎) was the sixth female suicide bomber of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the second woman recruited by Islamic Jihad.