No. 4 Ma'alot (1974)
In the early morning of May 15, 1954, three terrorists belonging to the group Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine infiltrated Israel's northern border from Lebanon. Dressed in IDF uniforms, they seized the Netiv Meir Elementary School in Ma'alot, a small town just six miles south of the border. With 85 students taken as hostages, they demanded the release of 26 prisoners held by Israel and set a 6 p.m. deadline. While the Israeli government stalled for time, an elite team of Sayeret Matkal commandos were being prepared to storm the building. Half an hour before the deadline, three teams of commandos burst into the building. They were supposed to be supported by sniper fire, but confusion caused the premature breach of security. The three terrorists, aware that the building was being infiltrated, returned fire and began killing the hostages. Before all three terrorists were killed, they managed to rake the students with machine gun fire and threw several grenades. In all, 22 students were killed and over 50 were wounded and one commando died of his wounds. Five other adults were also murdered by the terrorists while on their way to the school. The next day, Israel retaliated by strafing and bombing Palestinian training and refugee camps inside Lebanon, killing scores and wounding over 100. The failure to save the children caused some internal shakeup at Sayeret Matkal, which two years later would reclaim its reputation with the daring rescue mission at Entebbe.
