1948 Palestine war
- Period
- November 1947 – July 1949
- Sides
- Israel (Yishuv) vs Arab states & Palestinian Arabs
- Battles
- 32
The 1948 Palestine war, known in Palestine as the Nakba and in Israel as the War of Independence, was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It began as a civil war between the Arab and Jewish communities following the United Nations Partition Plan and became an international conflict with the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, the termination of the British mandate, and the entry of the armies of neighbouring Arab states into Palestine. During the war, Zionist forces conquered about 78% of the former territory of the mandate, causing the expulsion and flight of over 700,000 Palestinians. Transjordan took control of the territory west of the Jordan River and Egypt occupied the coastal territory around Gaza. The war formally ended with the 1949 Armistice Agreements, which established the Green Line de facto borders of the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. It was the first war of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the broader Arab–Israeli conflict.
Sources: Wikipedia — 1948 Palestine war · CC BY-SA 4.0
Battles 32
December 1947 – July 1948
Battle for Jerusalem
The Battle for Jerusalem took place during the 1947–1948 civil war phase of the 1947–1949 Palestine war. It saw Jewish and Arab militias in Mandatory Palestine, and later the militaries of Israel and Transjordan, fight for control over the city of Jerusalem. Under the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, Jerusalem was to be a corpus separatum administered by an international body. Fighting nevertheless immediately broke out in the city between Jewish and Arab militias, with bombings and other attacks being carried out by both sides.
February 1948
Sa'sa' massacre
During the 1948 Palestine war, two massacres were perpetrated by Zionist forces in the Palestinian village of Sa'sa'. The first occurred on the night of 14-15 February 1948, when Palmach forces attacked the village killing approximately 60 people. The second massacre occurred on 30 October 1948 when the village was conquered by the Israeli military as part of Operation Hiram.
April 1948
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on 9 April 1948, when Zionist paramilitaries attacked the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, then part of Mandatory Palestine, killing at least 107 Palestinian Arab villagers, including women and children. The attack was conducted primarily by the Irgun and Lehi, who were supported by the Haganah and Palmach. The massacre was carried out despite the village having agreed to a non-aggression pact. It occurred during the 1947–1948 civil war and was a central component of the Nakba and the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight.
April 1948
Battle of Haifa (1948)
The Battle of Haifa, also known as the Fall of Haifa, and called by the Jewish forces Operation Bi'ur Hametz, was a Haganah operation carried out on 21–22 April 1948 and a major event in the final stages of the civil war in Palestine, leading up to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
April 1948
Operation Nachshon
Operation Nachshon was a military operation of the Haganah during the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine and part of Plan Dalet. Its objective was to open the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem road blockaded by Palestinian Arabs, and furnish arms and supplies to the besieged Jewish community of Jerusalem. The operation was also known as "The operation to take control of the Jerusalem road," following which participating units later broke off to form the Harel Brigade. Following attempts to take control of the road to Jerusalem were unsuccessful and led to the construction of a makeshift bypass—Burma Road.
April 1948
Battle of Mishmar HaEmek
The Battle of Mishmar HaEmek was part of the civil war in Mandatory Palestine ahead of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was a ten-day battle fought from 4 to 15 April 1948 between the Arab Liberation Army commanded by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and the Haganah commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh and Dan Laner. The battle began when al-Qawuqji launched an attack against Mishmar HaEmek with the intent of taking the kibbutz, which was strategically placed beside the main road between Jenin and Haifa. In 1947 it had a population of 550.
May 1948 – July 1948
Battles of Latrun (1948)
The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Latrun takes its name from the monastery close to the junction of two major highways: Jerusalem to Jaffa/Tel Aviv and Gaza to Ramallah. During the British Mandate it became a Palestine Police base with a Tegart fort. The United Nations Resolution 181 placed this area within the proposed Arab state. In May 1948, it was under the control of the Arab Legion. It commanded the only road linking the Yishuv-controlled area of Jerusalem to Israel, giving Latrun strategic importance in the battle for Jerusalem.
May 1948
Kfar Etzion massacre
The Kfar Etzion massacre refers to a massacre of Jews that took place after a two-day battle in which Jewish Kibbutz residents and Haganah militia defended Kfar Etzion from a combined force of the Arab Legion and local Arab men on May 13, 1948, the day before the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Of the 127 Haganah fighters and Jewish kibbutzniks who died during the defence of the settlement, Martin Gilbert states that fifteen were killed on surrendering.
May 1948 – June 1948
Operation Pleshet
Operation Pleshet was an Israeli military action near the village of Isdud from May 29 to June 3, 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Isdud was on the Israeli southern front against the Egyptian Army, and the operation was aimed at capturing the village and stopping the Egyptian advance northwards. While only the June 2–3 engagements are officially named Operation Pleshet, the events immediately preceding are historiographically joined with it.
May 1948
Battles of the Kinarot Valley
The Battles of the Kinarot Valley, is a collective name for a series of military engagements between the Haganah and the Syrian army during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, fought between 15–22 May 1948 in the Kinarot Valley. It includes two main sites: the Battle of Degania–Samakh (Tzemah), and battles near Masada–Sha'ar HaGolan. The engagements were part of the battles of the Jordan Valley, which also saw fighting against Transjordan in the area of Gesher.
May 1948
Battle of Nirim
The Battle of Nirim was a military engagement between the Egyptian army and the Jewish Haganah militia on May 15, 1948, the first day of the Egyptian invasion of Israel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was fought in kibbutz Nirim, founded just two years earlier as part of the strategic settlement push known as the "11 points in the Negev". The Egyptian 6th Battalion attacked about 40 Israeli defenders at dawn on May 15, backed by armored vehicles, mortars, cannons and aircraft. They failed to take the village and retreated about 7 hours later, leaving behind about 30–35 dead.
May 1948
Battle of Yad Mordechai
The Battle of Yad Mordechai was fought between Egypt and Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, at the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai. The Egyptians attacked the settlement several times throughout May 19 and May 20, but failed to capture it. A final attack was launched on May 23, in which the Egyptians succeeded in capturing part of Yad Mordechai, following which the Israeli defenders withdrew. Yad Mordechai finally fell to the Egyptians on May 24 after hours of bombardment of the vacated kibbutz.
May 1948
Battle of Gesher
The Battle of Gesher was an attempted joint Iraqi-Jordanian advance against the newly created State of Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The battle began on May 14, 1948, when the Jewish exclave of Naharayim was stormed by Arab forces in an attempt to reach the town of Afula and link with the First Yarmouk Brigade of the Arab Liberation Army. The battle was a tactical Israeli victory as the Iraqi Army would move south to the cities of Nablus and Jenin to take over the Samarian Front, resulting in the halting of the advance to Afula.
May 1948
Al-Kabri massacre
The Al-Kabri massacre occurred when the Israeli army attacked the Palestinian village of Al-Kabri on the night of May 20-21, 1948, during the 1948 Palestine war. The attack was part of Operation Ben-Ami, itself a part of Plan Dalet. Orders were given to "attack with the aim of capturing, the villages of Kabri, Umm al Faraj and Al-Nahr, to kill the men [and] to destroy and set fire to the villages", orders which Meron Benvenisti states were "carried out to the letter". At least seven people were killed. The attack was committed partially as revenge for the March 27 Yehiam convoy ambush.
June 1948
Battle of Jenin (1948)
The Battle of Jenin was fought between Israel and Iraq, along with Arab irregular forces, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
June 1948
Battle of Nitzanim
The Battle of Nitzanim was fought between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, on June 7, 1948. It was the first major Egyptian victory of the war, and one of the few cases of Israeli surrender.
July 1948
Operation Dani
Operation Dani, also spelled Danny, was an Israeli military offensive launched on July 9–19, 1948 at the end of the first truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The objectives were to capture territory east of Tel Aviv and then to push inland and relieve the Jewish population and forces in Jerusalem. The main forces fighting against the IDF were the Arab Legion and Palestinian irregulars
July 1948
Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel, was the largest offensive by Israeli forces in the north of Palestine after the first truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade led by Canadian volunteer Ben Dunkelman, a battalion from the Carmeli Brigade, and some elements from the Golani Brigade between 8–18 July. Its objective was to capture Nazareth and the Lower Galilee.
July 1948
Operation Death to the Invader
Operation Death to the Invader, also Death to the Invaders, was an Israeli military operation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was carried out on July 16–18, 1948 in the northwestern Negev desert. The operation's objective was to link Jewish villages in the Negev desert with the rest of Israel, after this aim was not achieved in Operation An-Far that ended on July 15. The Egyptians blocked Israeli access to its Negev villages during the first truce of the war, by taking up positions on the Majdal – Bayt Jibrin road, where most of the battles of Death to the Invaders were fought.
July 1948
Battles of Negba
The Battles of Negba were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Negba, a kibbutz founded in 1939, had a strategic position overlooking the Majdal – Bayt Jibrin road, and was a target of two major assaults by the Egyptians in June and July 1948.
July 1948
Operation Shoter
Operation Shoter, also Operation Jaba', was a three-day Israeli operation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in the "Little Triangle" area south of Haifa. The operational objective was to clear the Tel Aviv – Haifa Road, which had been closed by local militia. Israelis had been forced to take a long and dangerous route to the east through Wadi Milk. The operation was launched a week after the start of the second truce imposed by United Nations. Attacks on Israeli traffic had continued during the truce. The operation was carried out by the Alexandroni's 33rd Battalion with support from additional Golani and Carmeli units. The Arab forces were irregular local militia.
July 1948
Battle of Be'erot Yitzhak
The Battle of Be'erot Yitzhak was a military engagement between the Israel Defense Forces and Egyptian army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was fought on July 15, 1948, in the ten-day period between the first and second truces of the war.
October 1948
Operation Hiram
Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the Upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army (ALA) forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion. The operation, which lasted 60 hours, ended just before the ceasefire with the neighboring Arab countries went into effect.
October 1948
Operation Yoav
Operation Yoav was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba–Hebron–Jerusalem road, and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon. The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubno, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach. Dubno, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of the kibbutzim Negba and Yad Mordechai. Dubno was killed in an air raid on Kibbutz Negba shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.
October 1948
Battle of Beersheba (1948)
The Battle of Beersheba, codenamed Operation Moses, was an Israeli offensive on Beersheba on October 21, 1948. It was part of Operation Yoav and was conducted at the end of the operation. It was made possible following the opening of a land corridor from the Negev desert to the rest of Israel in the Battles of the Separation Corridor. The capture had both military and political significance. It helped sever the supply route of the Egyptian expeditionary force's eastern wing, and strengthened Israel's claim to the Negev desert.
October 1948
Beit Hanoun wedge
The Beit Hanoun wedge was a piece of land around Beit Hanoun that the Israel Defense Forces captured during Operation Yoav in the final stage of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. With this and other wedges, the Israelis hoped to divide various units in the Egyptian army's expeditionary force in Palestine as part of Operation Yoav's plan. The battles around the wedge were fought on October 15–22, 1948. Creating the wedge involved the capture of a series of positions overlooking Beit Hanoun between October 15–19, and eventually taking the village itself between October 20–22.
November 1948
Operation Shmone
Operation Shmone was an Israeli military operation conducted against the Egyptian-held police fort of Iraq Suwaydan in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The battle was fought between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army on 9 November 1948, and ended in an Israeli victory, following numerous previous Israeli attempts to capture the fort, two of them in Operation Yoav just weeks before.
December 1948 – January 1949
Operation Horev
Operation Horev was a large-scale offensive against the Egyptian army in the Western Negev towards the end of the Arab–Israeli War in 1948 and 1949. Its objective was to entrap the Egyptian Army in the Gaza Strip. The operation took place from 22 December 1948 to 7 January 1949 and concluded after Britain threatened to intervene unless Israeli troops immediately withdrew from Egyptian territory.
December 1948
Battle of Hill 86
The Battle of Hill 86 was a military engagement between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army as part of Operation Horev. It was fought on December 22–23, 1948, and was the first battle of the operation. The Israelis initiated the battle, as well as a concurrent raid on the Arab village of 'Abasan and aerial and naval shelling of the coastal strip, with the hope of deceiving the Egyptians into thinking that the coming operation would be aimed at isolating the Egyptian forces in Gaza.
December 1948
Battle of 'Auja
The Battle of 'Auja, also called Battle of Nitzana, was a military engagement between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in and around 'Auja, a small village on the Egypt–Israel border. It was fought on December 26–27, 1948, as part of Operation Horev, an Israeli campaign meant to expel all Egyptian forces from the country. The first stage of the operation was the simultaneous capture of 18 Egyptian positions on the Beersheba–'Auja road, including 7 around 'Auja.
January 1949
Battle of Rafah (1949)
The Battle of Rafah was a military engagement between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the final stage of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was fought on January 3–8, 1949, just south of Rafah, today in the Gaza Strip. The battle was initiated by Israel as part of Operation Horev, on the backdrop of the Sinai battles just before. The Israelis were hoping to encircle all Egyptian forces in Palestine and drive them back to Egypt.
March 1949
Operation Uvda
Operation Uvda was an operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, from 5 March to 10 March 1949. It was the last campaign undertaken by the IDF during the war and its objective was to capture the southern Negev desert, which was claimed by the Kingdom of Jordan to be under Jordanian control in the armistice talks of 1949.
Earlier and later events nearby
- 1916Sykes–Picot Agreement
- 1916–1918Arab Revolt
- 1917Balfour Declaration
- November 1947 – July 19491948 Palestine warThis page
- 1948Nakba
- 1952Egyptian revolution of 1952
- 1956Suez Crisis
Who ruled this land
States that held this place in the historical borders data (Cliopatria). Years are approximate, as fine as the data's snapshots (every few years to a century). Tap to open the map for that year.
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- 1800–1500 BCHyksos
- 1400–1200 BCEgyptian Empire
- 1100 BCPhilistia
- 1000–950 BCKingdom of Israel
- 900–750 BCKingdom of Judah
- 700 BCNeo-Assyrian Empire
- 650 BCAssyrian Egypt
- 600–550 BCNeo-Babylonian Empire
- 500–350 BCAchaemenid Empire
- 300–200 BCPtolemaic Kingdom
- 150 BCSeleucid Empire
- 100 BC – AD 1Judea
- AD 25–375Roman Empire
- AD 400–600Byzantine Empire
- AD 625Sasanian Empire
- AD 650Rashidun Caliphate
- AD 675–750Umayyad Caliphate
- AD 775–875Abbasid Caliphate
- AD 900Tulunids
- AD 925–950Abbasid Caliphate
- AD 975–1060Fatimid Caliphate
- 1080Seljuk Empire
- 1100–1180Kingdom of Jerusalem
- 1200–1240Ayyubid dynasty
- 1260–1510Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt
- 1520–1830Ottoman Empire
- 1835–1840Muhammad Ali dynasty
- 1845–1916Ottoman Empire
- 1918–1934British Africa
- 1936–1938United Kingdom
- 1940–1944British Africa
- 1946British EmpireThis page
- 1948Palestinians
- 1950–1956Jordan
- 1958Arab Federation
- 1960–1966Jordan
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Other maps for this period
- War mapsChinese Civil War
- War mapsFirst Indochina War
- Inventions mapTransistor
- Epidemics mapThird plague pandemic