During the

1948 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

, on February 29 and again on March 31, the military coaches of the

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

train were mined by the Jewish militant group

Lehi Lehi (; he, לח"י – לוחמי חרות ישראל ''Lohamei Herut Israel – Lehi'', "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel – Lehi"), often known pejoratively as the Stern Gang,"This group was known to its friends as LEHI and to its enemie ...

. On February 29, Lehi mined the train north of

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

, killing 28 British soldiers and wounding 35. No civilians were hurt. One or more bombs laid on the track were detonated from a nearby orange grove. Lehi took credit for the bombing of the British train claiming it was revenge for the

Ben Yehuda Street Bombing A series of attacks were perpetrated or ordered by Palestinian Arabs, some of them acting as suicide bombers, on Jewish targets in Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda Street from February 1948 onwards. The attacks took place before the declaration of the St ...

in Jerusalem. The train was the normal daily passenger express to which four military coaches had been attached. On March 31, the train was mined again near

Binyamina Binyamina-Giv'at Ada ( he, בִּנְיָמִינָה-גִּבְעַת עָדָה) is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. It is the result of the 2003 merger between the two local councils of Binyamina and Giv'at Ada. In its population was . ...

, a Jewish town near

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

, killing 40 persons and wounding 60. The casualties were all civilians, mostly Arabs. Although there were some soldiers on the train, none were injured. The ''

Palestine Post Palestine Post ( ar, البريد الفلسطيني) is the company responsible for postal service in the State of Palestine. See also * Postage stamps and postal history of the Palestinian National Authority * Postage stamps and postal history ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' attributed the attack to Lehi.

Background

The attacks on the train line had begun in 1947. On April 22, 1947, the train was mined outside

, the bombing killed five British officers, two Arab adults and a 3-year old, Gilbert Balladi. On May 15, 1947, the train track was bombed seven times south of

Lydda Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephe ...

. Two British army lieutenants were killed, two others seriously wounded and five other hurt in one bombing between Acre and Haifa. One commuter was injured when the engine and two cars were derailed by another bomb earlier in the day. Three crew-men were injured when their freight train was derailed in another bombing. Three railroad bridges were damaged in the attacks. Lehi reportedly called in warnings. On August 9, 1947, Irgun bombed a British troop train north of

, killing the Jewish engineer. On September 29, 1947, the train was bombed by Irgun twenty miles south of Haifa. The engine, coal car and two cabin cars were derailed, one person was hospitalized.Terrorists Strike in Palestine Again
NY Times, September 30, 1947

Notes

References

* 'Cairo-To-Haifa Train Mined 28 British Soldiers Killed And 35 Wounded, Stern Gang Claims Responsibility For Attack', ''The Times'', Monday, March 1, 1948; pg. 4; Issue 51008; col A. * 'Cairo-Haifa Train Mined Again 40 Killed And 60 Wounded, Problem Of Preserving Sanctity Of Jerusalem', ''The Times'', Thursday, April 1, 1948; pg. 4; Issue 51034; col A. * Dana Adams Schmidt, '40 Arabs Are Slain In Mining of Train: 60 More Are Injured In Blast Near Haifa - Derailment is Laid to Stern Group', ''The New York Times'', 1 April 1948. * '40 Arabs Killed, 60 Injured, In Train Blast', ''Palestine Post'', April 1, 1948; page 1. * ''Unknown Soldiers The Operation Book of Lehi'',

Yaakov Banai Yaakov Banai ( he, יעקב בנאי) born Yaakov Tunkel, Alias Mazal ( he, מזל; March 30, 1920 – January 7, 2009) served as the commander of the Lehi movement's combat unit. Banai was a senior Lehi member who masterminded numerous militar ...

, 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairo-Haifa train bombings 1948 1948 Arab–Israeli War Mass murder in 1948 Explosions in 1948 Massacres in Mandatory Palestine Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine Train bombings in Asia Zionist terrorism February 1948 events in Asia March 1948 events in Asia