Dalal Mughrabi Dalal Mughrabi ( , ; " ca . " 1959 – 11 March 1978 ) was a Palestinian militant who was a member of the Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) and participated in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel . The attack resulted in the death of 38 Israeli civilians , including 13 children . Mughrabi and nine or ten other militants were also killed in the course of the operation . She has been hailed as a martyr and a national hero among Palestinians , while in Israel she is seen as a terrorist . Early life . Mughrabi was born and raised in the Palestinian refugee camp of Sabra in Beirut , Lebanon . Her father ' s family home prior to the 1948 Palestine war was in Jaffa , Palestine . Her mother was Lebanese . Originally educated as a nurse , Dalal Mughrabi decided to devote her life to politics when the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975 . She joined Fatah and began working within the organization ' s communications service . She took part in the fighting against the Syrian army in the mountains southeast of Beirut when Syrian forces entered Lebanon in 1976 to assist the Phalangists and their allies . In 1977 she completed a three - month training course attaining her the rank of lieutenant . She was offered a post in Italy by Fatah as political officer working at the PLO office , but she declined choosing instead a military career . Coastal Road massacre . Mughrabi was part of a group of a dozen or so Palestinian and Lebanese militants who landed on March 11 , 1978 , on the coastal plain near Tel Aviv . Mughrabi allegedly led the group , though reports differ . The timing was aimed at scuttling peace talks between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat , and the intent to " kill as many Israelis as possible " , according to one source , though other sources state the goal was to attack the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv or to " reach the Knesset and demand the release of Palestinian prisoners . " An early casualty was an American photographer named Gail Rubin , The militants opened fire at passing traffic and hijacked a taxi , killing its occupants . They seized a bus and headed to Tel Aviv , and then hijacked another bus , moving the hostages ( now numbering 71 ) to the first bus . Israeli forces stopped the bus , and a shooting battle ensued before it exploded . During the shootout Mughrabi allegedly raised the Palestinian flag and declared the establishment of a Palestinian state . Israel says the bus exploded after Mughrabi blew it up with a grenade , while Palestinians say it was struck by fire from an Israeli helicopter gunship . A total of 38 Israelis , including 13 children , were killed and 72 were wounded ; Mughrabi and nine other militants died as well . According to Hugh Macleod , a British journalist , there are reports of images of Ehud Barak , then an officer in the Sayeret Matkal anti - terrorism unit and possibly a leader in the rescue operation , firing shots into Mughrabi ' s dead body as she lay on the road . Release of remains . As part of the 2008 Israel - Hezbollah prisoner swap Mughrabi ' s remains were supposed to be exhumed and returned to Lebanon . Dalal was buried in a " cemetery for enemy dead " but the IDF apparently could not locate the body due to underground currents moving the coffins in the cemetery . Dalal ' s sister said to Ma ' an News Agency that the family received a coffin that contained " just dirt and stones " . Commemoration and martyrhood . Among Palestinians , Mughrabi is viewed as a martyr in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine . Among Israelis , she is viewed as a terrorist who was responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the State of Israel . Numerous Palestinian sites and institutions , some inaugurated by the Palestinian Authority , bear her name , including a public square , a computer center , soccer tournament , and summer camp . The dedication of the public square the city of al - Bireh was controversial . It was initially scheduled for March 2010 on the 32nd anniversary of the Coastal Road attack , and would also have coincided with a visit to the region by U . S . Vice President Joe Biden . Public condemnation came from Benjamin Netanyahu , Israel ' s Prime Minister , who said the honoring of Mughrabi was anti - Israel incitement that " encourages terrorism " , and United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton , who said such actions were " provocations . . . needlessly inflaming tensions and imperiling prospects for a comprehensive peace . " Dozens of Palestinian teenagers from Fatah ' s youth division and a senior Fatah official gathered at the square . In March 2011 , an official ceremony was held , installing a plaque that depicted Mughrabi cradling a rifle against a map of Israel , the West Bank and Gaza Strip . In addition , the PA launched a seminar called " Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Camp , " to be held in Jericho .