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. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

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

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

train were mined by the Zionist militant group Lehi. On February 29, Lehi mined the train north of

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

, 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 in Jerusalem. The train was the normal daily passenger express to which four military coaches had been attached. On March 31, Lehi again mined the train, this time near Binyamina, a Jewish town near Caesarea, killing 40 Arab civilians, and wounding 60. Although there were some soldiers on the train, none were injured.

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. 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 Lydda, 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, 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairo-Haifa train bombings 1948 1948 Palestine war Massacres in 1948 Explosions in 1948 Massacres in Mandatory Palestine Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine Train bombings in Asia Lehi (militant group) attacks February 1948 in Asia March 1948 in Asia Railway accidents in 1948 Terrorist incidents in Asia in 1948