Casepin
Back to cases

Case file

Bus 300 hostage crisis

SOLVED1984Near Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · torture · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the evening of 12 April 1984, four armed Palestinian men from the Gaza Strip boarded Egged bus route 300 as passengers near Ashdod and hijacked it shortly after departure, forcing it to head toward the Egyptian border. The hijackers, who said they were armed with knives and a suitcase containing two anti-tank rounds, demanded the release of 500 Arab prisoners held in Israel and safe passage to Egypt. A pregnant passenger was released early on and alerted authorities, prompting Israeli military forces to pursue the bus. Soldiers eventually disabled the bus by shooting out its tires near Deir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip.

A lengthy standoff followed, attended by senior Israeli officials including Defence Minister Moshe Arens, Chief of Staff Moshe Levi, and Shin Bet director Avraham Shalom. Early on 13 April, Sayeret Matkal commandos led by Doron Kempel stormed the bus. Two hijackers were killed during the raid, and a 19-year-old hostage, soldier Irit Portuguez, was also killed by gunfire during the operation; seven other passengers were wounded. The remaining two hijackers were captured alive, bound, and beaten by onlookers. According to the Wikipedia account of the affair, Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom ordered Shin Bet chief of operations Ehud Yatom to execute the two captured men, who were then driven to an isolated location and beaten to death with rocks and iron bars.

Israeli military censorship initially suppressed reporting on the hijacking, and early accounts claimed all four hijackers had died during the takeover. This version was contradicted days later when the newspaper Hadashot cited a New York Times report, and later published a photograph by Alex Levac showing one hijacker alive and in custody after the raid. The photograph caused public uproar and demands for an investigation.

A secret 1984 inquiry led by Reserve General Meir Zorea was followed by a 1985 trial of Brigadier General Yitzhak Mordechai, who had led the takeover operation, and eleven others, on charges related to the deaths of the two captured hijackers; Mordechai was acquitted and charges against the others were dropped. In 1986, former Shin Bet deputy chief Reuven Hazak and colleagues Rafi Malka and Peleg Raday alleged that Avraham Shalom had ordered the killings and coordinated false testimony implicating Mordechai. Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir opened a criminal investigation but was forced to resign in May 1986 after refusing to halt it. President Chaim Herzog subsequently issued a pardon to Shalom and four other Shin Bet officers, which the Supreme Court upheld in August 1986. The affair damaged Shin Bet's public standing and led to the Landau Commission's inquiry into the agency's interrogation practices, which found that Shin Bet members routinely committed perjury in court. In 1996, Yatom publicly stated in a newspaper interview that he had killed the two men on Shalom's direct order.

Key facts

Victims
Irit Portuguez, Majdi Abu Jummaa
Date
1984
Location
Near Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1984-04-12

    Four armed Palestinian men hijack Egged bus route 300 near Ashdod, taking 41 passengers hostage and demanding release of prisoners and passage to Egypt.

  2. 1984-04-13

    Sayeret Matkal commandos storm the bus; two hijackers are killed, two are captured alive, and hostage Irit Portuguez is killed by gunfire during the operation.

  3. 1984-04-22

    Israeli newspaper Al HaMishmar publishes claims from senior sources that a commission of inquiry into the deaths of the two captured hijackers is necessary.

  4. 1984-04-24

    New York Times correspondent David Shipler is summoned and reprimanded by Israel's Government Press Office director after reporting on the photograph showing a hijacker captured alive.

  5. 1984-04-25

    Weekly HaOlam HaZeh publishes a blurred photograph of a hijacker being led away after overcoming censorship objections.

  6. 1984-04-27

    Newspaper Hadashot is ordered to stop publishing for four days over its reporting on the inquiry committee.

  7. 1984-05-29

    Reserve General Meir Zorea's secret inquiry report is delivered to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Security Committee.

  8. 1985

    Brigadier General Yitzhak Mordechai and eleven others stand trial over the deaths of the two captured hijackers; Mordechai is acquitted and other charges are dropped.

  9. 1986-05

    Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir is forced to resign after refusing to halt his investigation into Shin Bet's role in the killings.

  10. 1986-06

    President Chaim Herzog issues a pardon to Avraham Shalom and four other Shin Bet officers; the pardons are challenged in the Supreme Court.

  11. 1986-08-06

    The Supreme Court upholds the presidential pardons for Shalom and the four other Shin Bet officers.

  12. 1996

    Ehud Yatom states in an interview with Yediot Aharonot that he killed the two captured hijackers on Avraham Shalom's order.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Irit Portuguez

    VICTIM

    19-year-old soldier and hostage killed by IDF gunfire during the commando takeover of the bus.

    citation on file

  • Yitzhak Zamir

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Attorney General of Israel who opened a criminal investigation into Shin Bet's role in the killings and was forced to resign in 1986 after refusing to halt it.

    citation on file

  • Majdi Abu Jummaa

    VICTIM

    One of two hijackers captured alive after the takeover and, according to the Wikipedia account, subsequently beaten to death by Shin Bet personnel.

    citation on file

  • Avraham Shalom

    CHARGED

    Head of Shin Bet who, according to accusations by former colleagues, ordered the killing of the two captured hijackers and coordinated a cover-up; resigned and was granted a presidential pardon before facing trial.

    citation on file

  • Yitzhak Mordechai

    ACQUITTED

    Brigadier General who led the bus rescue operation; tried in 1985 on charges related to the deaths of the two captured hijackers and acquitted.

    citation on file

  • Ehud Yatom

    CHARGED

    Shin Bet chief of operations who publicly stated in 1996 that he killed the two captured hijackers on Avraham Shalom's order; received a presidential pardon before facing trial.

    citation on file

Places

Near Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip

31.4211, 34.3502

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
In April 1984, four Palestinian gunmen hijacked an Egged bus in Israel; Israeli commandos stormed the vehicle, killing two hijackers and a hostage, while two hijackers were captured alive and then killed by Shin Bet personnel, triggering a cover-up and years-long political scandal.
Where did the crime happen?
Near Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Bus 300 affairwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Israelis Voice New Weariness At Scandal-ridden Leadersnews · The New York Times · 2026-07-07
  3. Revisiting the Photo That Exposed a Shin Bet Lienews · Haaretz · 2026-07-07
More cases in Palestinian Territories