The Kish Air Boeing 707 left Tehran at about 9 a.m. heading for the vacation island of Kish, 650 miles southeast in the Persian Gulf. Instead, about an hour and a half later, the holiday-bound passengers were informed by loudspeaker that they had been hijacked. They were never told where they were headed. However, after landing they saw Hebrew letters at an airport and eventually disembarked at an Isaeli military terminal. Israeli television showed dozens of Muslim men on their knees in the terminal for noon prayers, and seated women in black chadors. The Iranians appeared nervous in the hands of Israelis, until soldiers treated them to lunch and cold drinks.
