Operation An-Far (short for Anti- Farouk) was a military operation launched by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Givati Brigade The 84th "Givati" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת גִּבְעָתִי, , "Hill Brigade" or "Highland Brigade") is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Until 2005, the Brigade used to be stationed within the Gaza Strip and primarily perf ...

on the night of July 8–9 during the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

. Its objectives were to gain control of approaches in southern

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

and block the advance of the Egyptian army. The fighting continued until July 15, and was followed by

Operation Death to the Invader Operation Death to the Invader ( he, מִבְצָע מָוֶת לַפּוֹלֵשׁ), 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 Neg ...

Background

On the ending of the first

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Truce on July 8, most of the Israeli army's attention and resources were focused on Operations Danny and Dekel. In the south, the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...

and Givati Brigades failed to link up. But in ten days, the Givati Brigade did succeed in "conquering areas in the northern Negev and in the western Hebron district foothills."

Operation

Operational Commander

Shimon Avidan Shimon Avidan ( he, שמעון אבידן; February 7, 1911 – September 11, 1994), born Siegbert Koch ( he, זיגברט קוך), was an Israeli soldier and officer, the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Born in ...

held meetings at

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

headquarters on July 5 at which plans were outlined. In the first phase, the 1st

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

was to attack the

Tell es-Safi Tell es-Safi ( ar, تل الصافي, Tall aṣ-Ṣāfī, "White hill"; he, תל צפית, ''Tel Tzafit'') was an Arab Palestinian village, located on the southern banks of Wadi 'Ajjur, northwest of Hebron which had its Arab population expelled ...

area. The second phase was towards

Beit 'Affa Bayt 'Affa was a Palestinian village in the Gaza Subdistrict. It was depopulated and destroyed during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. It was located northeast of Gaza and Wadi al-Rana ran east of the village. History The villa ...

, Hatta and

Jusayr Jusayr was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War on July 17, 1948, under Operation Barak or Operation Yo'av. It was located 35 km northeast of Gaza. History Ceramics from ...

. On July 7, the 1st Battalion were given their orders: "to expel the refugees encamped in the area, in order to prevent enemy infiltration from the east to this important position." According to Israeli army reports, the first phase of the operation, in which 16 villages were captured, resulted in "more than 20,000" people fleeing the area.."Morris, p.212 - citing: Major Avraham Eilon (ed), 'Hativat Givati Mul Hapolesh Hamitzri' (The Givati Brigade Opposite the Egyptian invader), (1963), pp.226-228,254.

Aftermath

The Israelis managed to achieve limited success in the operation, especially in clearing their flanks, but failed to achieve the main objective—linking up with the forces in the

desert. The result was the commencement of

, starting July 16.

References

Bibliography

Walid Khalidi Walid Khalidi ( ar, وليد خالدي, born 1925 in Jerusalem) is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, establish ...

, All That Remains, . Uses 1945 'Village Statistics' for population figures. *

Benny Morris Benny Morris ( he, בני מוריס; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. He is a member of ...

, The Birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, 1947–1949, . {{Israeli operations in the 1948 war An-Far July 1948 events in Asia

Background

Operation

Aftermath

See also

References

Bibliography