The restaurant
The Maxim restaurant was a beachfront restaurant located near the south entry to Haifa. It was co-owned by Jews and Christian Arabs, and was known for being a symbol of co-existence. The restaurant was also the favorite dinning place of the famous Israeli soccer club Maccabi Haifa.
Three Maccabi Haifa officials were lightly injured in the bombing.
Reaction
U.S. President George W. Bush condemned the terrorist attack:
- "I condemn unequivocally the vicious act of terrorism committed today in Haifa. This murderous action, aimed at families gathered to enjoy a Sabbath lunch, killed and injured dozens of men, women, and children. This despicable attack underscores once again the responsibility of Palestinian authorities to fight terror, which remains the foremost obstacle to achieving the vision of two states living side by side in peace and security."
In response to the attack, which Israel claimed was planned in the Damascus headquarters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an alleged terrorist training camp in Ein-Saheb, Syria was bombed by IAF warplanes. No casualties were reported for this attack.
List of the 21 Victims
Five members of the Almog family from Haifa:
- Admiral (res.) Ze'ev Almog, 71,
- his wife Ruth, 70,
- their son Moshe, 43,
- and grandsons Tomer Almog, 9,
- and Assaf Staier, 11
Five members of the Zer-Aviv family from Kibbutz Yagur:
- Bruria, 59;
- her son Bezalel, 30,
- and his wife Keren, 29,
- with their children Liran, 4,
- and their baby Noya, only 2-months old.
- Zvi Bahat, 35, of Haifa
- Mark Biano, 29, of Haifa,
- and his wife Naomi, 25
- Hana Francis, 39, of Fassouta, chief waiter
- Mutanus Karkabi, 31, of Haifa, the security guard
- Sharbal Matar, 23, of Fassouta, waiter
- Osama Najar, 28, of Haifa, cook
- Nir Regev, 25, of Nahariya
- Irena Sofrin, 38, of Kiryat Bialik
- Lydia Zilberstein, 56, of Haifa died of her wounds on Oct 9
- George Matar, 59, of Haifa died of his wounds on Oct 15
