Passover massacre

Park Hotel Passover attack
Part of the Second Intifada terror campaign
The attack site
Location	Netanya
Coordinates	32°19′57″N 34°51′03″E / 32.33250°N 34.85083°E / 32.33250; 34.85083
Date	27 March 2002 19:30 pm (GMT+2)
Attack type	suicide bomber
Deaths	30 civilians (+ 1 perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries	140 civilians
Perpetrators	Hamas claimed responsibility

The Passover massacre was a suicide bombing carried out by Hamas at the Park Hotel in Netanya, Israel on 27 March 2002, during a Passover seder. Thirty civilians were killed in the attack and 140 were injured. It was the deadliest attack against Israelis during the Second Intifada.

During the Jewish holiday of Passover in 2002, Park Hotel in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya held its traditional annual Passover seder for its 250 guests, in the hotel dining room located at the ground floor of the hotel. On the evening of 27 March 2002, a Palestinian bomber, Abdel-Basset Odeh (or Abd Al-Baset Odeh), disguised as a woman approached the hotel carrying a suitcase which contained powerful explosives. The suicide bomber managed to pass the security guard at the entrance to a hotel, then he walked through the lobby passing the reception desk and entered the hotel's crowded dining room. At 19:30 pm (GMT+2) the suicide bomber detonated the explosive device he was carrying. The force of the explosion instantly killed 28 civilians and injured about 140 people, of whom 20 were injured severely. Two of the injured later died from their wounds. Some of the victims were Holocaust survivors. Most of the victims were senior citizens (70 and over). The oldest victim was 90 and the youngest was 20 years old. A number of married couples were killed, as well as a father together with his daughter. One of the victims was a Jewish tourist from Sweden who was visiting Israel for Passover.

The plot for the Passover massacre included the use of cyanide; 4 kg of cyanide had been bought and prepared for a chemical attack.

Tarak Zidan had been recruited to Hamas, and during 1997 he researched the use of chlorine and other nerve agents to be used in terror attacks. In 2002, 4 kg of chlorine had been bought and packed for the attack. For unknown reasons it was not used and passed to Abbas al-Sayyid instead.