Gunman kills Israeli embassy couple in Washington, following decades of embassy-targeted attacks

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Jewish museum event organizer recalls shooting: ‘I looked evil right in the eye’

JoJo Kalin, who organized the event at the Capital Jewish Museum, joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to share her account of witnessing the aftermath of two Israeli Embassy staffers shot and killed outside the event.

Wednesday’s attack that killed two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. is part of a long history of assaults against Israeli targets around the world. 

The victims, who were a soon-to-be-engaged couple, were identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Their murders happened outside the Capital Jewish Museum, after which the suspected shooter yelled, “Free, free Palestine!” and security officers apprehended him.

The shooting comes as tensions over Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip have drastically escalated this week amid growing humanitarian concerns, though it is not the first time since the war broke out following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that its D.C. embassy has been a target.

Since 1969, there have been at least 31 terror attacks targeting Israeli embassies and diplomatic staff across the globe. Here is a breakdown of some of the biggest incidents tracked by the Israeli government.

Sarah Lynn Milgrim, left, and Yaron Lischinsky, were about to be engaged.  (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

WHO IS THE ANTI-ISRAEL SUSPECT IN THE KILLING OF TWO ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFFERS?

FEBRUARY 2024

FEBRUARY 2012 

JULY 2004

FEBRUARY 1999

JULY 1994

MARCH 1992

JUNE 1982

NOVEMBER 1979

DECEMBER 1972

MAY 1971

MAY 1970

SEPTEMBER 1969

FBI agents cordon off the scene outside the Capital Jewish Museum following a shooting that left two people dead, in Washington, DC, in the early hours of May 22, 2025. Two Israeli embassy staff members were killed near a Jewish museum in Washington late Wednesday May 21, US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said. “Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC. We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share,” she posted on X.  ((Photo by Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP) (Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images))

RED CROSS FIGHTING TO REACH HOSTAGES, ALLEVIATE ‘CATASTROPHIC’ SITUATION IN GAZA

FEBRUARY 2024

In February last year, an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, Aaron Bushnell, set himself on fire outside the embassy in an apparent act of protest.

The 25-year-old died, but no embassy staff were injured in the incident.

FEBRUARY 2012

On Feb. 13, 2012, Delhi, India was the site of the last known attack on Israeli embassy personnel when a diplomatic vehicle was bombed, and one woman was seriously injured. 

JULY 2004

Dual suicide bombings outside the Israeli and American embassies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on July 30, 2004, killed the Israeli ambassador’s personal bodyguard and four local policemen.

Police and forensic officers examine a damaged Israeli embassy vehicle after an explosion, on February 13, 2012, in New Delhi, India. (Daniel Berehulak /Getty Images)

WITNESS RECOUNTS CHILLING MOMENT DC JEWISH MUSEUM SHOOTER CONFESSED, ‘I DID THIS FOR GAZA’

FEBRUARY 1999

Roughly 100 rioters broke into the offices of the Israeli Consulate General in Berlin, Germany, on February 17, 1999, brandishing clubs, hammers, and iron bars before they took a woman hostage. Three of the perpetrators were killed during the attack.

JULY 1994

A bomb detonated outside the Israeli Embassy in London on July 26, 1994, injuring several embassy staff.

MARCH 1992

In one of the largest ever attacks on an Israeli embassy, a bombing attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 17, 1992, injured some 300 people and killed 29 others, including nine Israeli embassy employees, as well as elderly residents of a nearby nursing home, and schoolchildren on a passing bus.

 Police and rescue workers stand near destroyed cars and debris on March 17, 1992, in Buenos Aires shortly after a powerful bomb ripped through the Israeli Embassy, virtually destroying the five-story building and killing 29 people.  ( Daniel Garcia/AFP via Getty Images)

Just 10 days earlier, on March 7 in Ankara, Turkey, the security chief for the Israeli embassy, Ehud Sadan, was killed in a car bombing. Hezbollah and the Islamic Revenge Organization claimed responsibility.

AT LEAST 82 KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKES ON GAZA AS CRITICAL AID FAILS TO REACH PALESTINIANS

JUNE 1982

On June 4, 1982, Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Shlomo Argov, was seriously wounded after he was shot in the head when leaving a diplomatic event in the center of London. Three perpetrators were apprehended and sentenced to up to 35 years in prison. 

NOVEMBER 1979

An assassination attempt was carried out on Israeli Ambassador Ephraim Eldar in Lisbon, Portugal on November 13, 1979. While the ambassador was wounded along with his chauffeur and a local policeman, a guard at the embassy was killed.

DECEMBER 1972

On December 28, 1972, the Israeli embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, was taken over by four terrorists and six embassy personnel were taken hostage. They were released a reported 19 hours later. 

Crime Scene Attempted Assassination of Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Thursday 3rd June 1982; crime scene where Shlomo Argov was shot in the head as he got into his car after a banquet at the Dorchester Hotel, in Park Lane, London. Argov was not killed, but he was critically injured. (Bunny Atkins/Mirropix/Getty Images)

JULY 1973

Yosef Alon, Israeli air force attaché to the embassy in Washington, D.C. was shot to death outside his home on July 1, 1973.  The murder was believed to be in retaliation for Israel’s killing of the leader of a terrorist group known as Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

MAY 1971

The Israeli Consul-General, Efraim Elrom, was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 28, 1971, by the Turkish Liberation Army.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMAY 1970

Two armed Palestinians broke into the Israeli Consulate in Asuncion, Paraguay, on May 4, 1970, and opened fire. An Israeli secretary, Edna Pe’er, was killed in the attack while a local worker was also injured.

SEPTEMBER 1969

On September 8, 1969, what appeared to be a coordinated bombing campaign targeted two Israeli embassies in the Hague in the Netherlands and in Bonn, Germany, as well as Israel’s El Al airline in Brussels in an attack that occurred within minutes of each other.

Though no injuries were reported during the embassy attacks, three El Al employees and a customer were injured in the Brussels bombing.

Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.