Tunis Raid
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The Tunis Raid was the assassination of Abu Jihad by special forces units of the Israeli Defence Forces.
In 1988 the Israeli intelligence services devised a plan to assassinate to one of the leaders of the PLO, Abu Jihad. He was living in some comfort in the exclusive Sidi Bou Said suburb of Tunis and on 15 April a small fleet of Israeli Sa'ar 4 Fast Missile Boats arrived in the waters just off the coast of Tunis, while two specially adapted Israeli Air Force electronic warfare Boeing 707s on a civilian flight path blanketed Tunisian radar with an effective ECM shield. Mossad agents then tapped into the local telephone exchange to block any possible warning reaching Abu Jihad. Special forces from the Sayeret Matkal came ashore in five Zodiac craft. These were loaded into two rented vans and driven to Sidi Bou Said. At shortly after 01:00 on April 16 they arrived outside Abu Jihad's house and joined up with Mossad agents conducting the surveillance side of the operation. The operation temporarily stalled as Abu Jihad was not at home; however, the Israeli special forces remained safely hidden and at 01:30 Abu Jihad and his bodyguards returned. However, the Israeli special forces waited a further 60 minutes until the lights in Abu Jihad's bedroom were out. The guards were then killed and the Israelis entered the house and finally burst into Abu Jihad's bedroom. The Palestinian leader died instantly in a hail of 75 bullets; Abu Jihad's wife lying alongside him was unhurt.
The Sayeret Matkal, after an operation that took just thirteen seconds from breaching the doors to evacuating the building, then retired to Ras Cathage beach and the waiting Zodiacs protected by commandos from the Israeli S'13 Naval Special Forces. The Mossad agents, posing as tourists, left safely on commercial flights from Tunis Airport.
