The Maxim Restaurant suicide bombing occurred on October 4, 2003 in the beachfront Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel. 21 people were killed in the attack and 51 were injured. Among the victims were two families and four children, including a two-month-old baby.

The restaurant, located at the seafront near the southern boundary of the city of Haifa, was frequently attended by both Arab and Jewish local populations. The restaurant's interior was destroyed by the blast, and was completely rebuilt seven months after the attack.

The Maxim restaurant is co-owned by Jews and Christian Arabs, and is ironically known for being a symbol of "co-existence". The restaurant is also the favorite dining place of the famous Israeli football club Maccabi Haifa.

The background and details of the attack were compiled by the Life After Terror (LAT) website:

On October 4, 2003, a 28-year-old Arab suicide bomber, Hanadi Jaradat, detonated the explosive belt she was wearing inside the Arab-Jewish Maxim restaurant in Haifa. The bomb included metal fragments packed around the explosive core, that splayed around the restaurant, maximizing its lethal effect. According to Haifa Police sources the aftermath was gruesome, with some of the dead still sitting upright at their tables while others, including children and babies, were slammed against the walls. Due to the force of the explosion, all that remained of Jaradat was her head.

Oran Almog, who was ten years old at time of the bombing, was blinded by the blast, lost two of his grandparents, his father, his brother and his cousin.

On the day following the suicide bombing, the IDF demolished the home of Jaradat's family, and the homes of two neighbors who were uninvolved in the bombing. In response to the attack, which Israel claimed was planned in the Damascus headquarters of the Islamic Jihad, a terrorist training camp in Ain es-Saheb, Syria, was bombed by four Israeli Air Force jets. One person was injured, and munitions were destroyed during the strike.

Jamal Mahadjne, an Israeli-Arab from Umm al-Fahm, was arrested within hours of the attack for driving Jaradat to her destination. Mahadjne had regularly taken fees for illegally driving Arabs to Israel, taking advantage of his Israeli identity card to cross the border without difficulty. He confessed his actions to Shin Bet agents, and was indicted before the Haifa District Court for being an accessory to murder and for other crimes relating to his illegal activities on November 10.

On November 7, IDF troops arrested senior Islamic Jihad terrorist Amjad Abeidi who planned the attack, along with a number of other suicide bombings, during an operation in Jenin. During the operation, Jenin was placed under curfew as soldiers searched homes. One Arab teenager was shot dead while climbing a tank, and three were wounded. The complex in which Abeidi was hiding was located and searched, and a weapons cache was found. After a grenade was thrown into the cache, Abeidi was lightly wounded and surrendered. As the soldiers left Jenin with Abeidi, Arabs opened fire at them, and the soldiers returned fire. One terrorist, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, was killed. Abeidi was handed over to Shin Bet for interrogation.

VICTIMS
Five members of the Almog family:
Admiral of Israeli Navy (res.) Ze'ev Almog, 71, of Haifa
Ruth Almog, 70, of Haifa
Moshe Almog, 43, of Haifa
Tomer Almog, 9, of Haifa
Assaf Staier, 11, of Haifa

Five members of the Zer-Aviv family:
Brurua Zer-Aviv, 59, of Kibbutz Yagur
Bezalel Zer-Aviv, 30, of Kibbutz Yagur
Keren Zer-Aviv, 29, of Kibbutz Yagur
Liran Zer-Aviv, 4, of Kibbutz Yagur
Noya Zer-Aviv, 1, of Kibbutz Yagur

Nir Regev, 25, of Nahariya
Zvi Bahat, 35, of Haifa
Mark Biano, 29, of Haifa
Naomi Biano, 25, of Haifa
Hana Francis, 39, of Fassuta, head waiter.
Sharbal Matar, 23, of Fassuta, waiter
Mutanus Karkabi, 31, of Haifa, security guard
Osama Najar, 28, of Haifa, cook
Irena Sofrin, 38, of Kiryat Bialik
Lydia Zilberstein, 56, of Haifa, died of her injuries on October 9
George Matar, 58, of Haifa, died of his injuries on October 15