Rifle and grenade attack on an El Al aircraft at takeoff

A few weeks after the attack in Athens, a commando unit opened fire at Zurich-Kloten against an El Al aircraft taxiing toward the runway, using assault rifles and grenades.

The co-pilot of the aircraft was fatally wounded and several passengers were hit. An Israeli security agent on board exited the plane and shot one of the attackers; the others were arrested by the Swiss police and subsequently tried at Winterthur.

The episode marked a turning point: it established that Swiss territory, long kept apart from the conflicts of the Middle East, was not out of reach. It came shortly before the attack on the Swissair flight, which would strike the country the following month.