The Lydda Airport massacre was responsible for the high toll of civilian casualties in Israel during the fifth year since the outbreak of the Six-Day War on June 5,1967. According to statistics released today, 34 civilians were killed during the last 12 months, 24 of them at Lydda last Tuesday. The number of civilians injured totaled 140, 78 of them at the hands of the airport gunmen.
On May 30, 1970, two years before the Lydda massacre, Israeli forces along the Suez Canal suffered heavy casualties as a result of an Egyptian ambush. Fifteen soldiers were killed and two were captured–Sgts. David Levi and Yair Dori. Dori has since been returned with one hand amputated.
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