Operation Hiram

Operation Hiram
Part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

IDF soldiers in Sa'sa', 30 October 1948
Date29 October 1948 – 31 October 1948
Location
Result

Israeli victory

Territorial
changes
Upper Galilee incorporated into Israeli territory
Belligerents

 Israel

Arab Liberation Army
Syria Syria
 Lebanon
Commanders and leaders
Israel Moshe Carmel Fawzi al-Qawuqji
Strength
6,000 2,000–4,000[1][2]
Casualties and losses
Light[3] 400 killed
550 captured[4][5]
50,000 Palestinian refugees

Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.[6][7] 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.[8] The operation, which lasted 60 hours (29–31 October),[9] ended just before the ceasefire with the neighboring Arab countries went into effect.

As a result of the operation, the Upper Galilee, originally slated by the United Nations partition plan to be part of an Arab state, would be controlled by the newly formed state of Israel, and more than 50,000 new Palestinian refugees were expelled from their homes.[10]

  1. ^ Herzog, Chaim (1982) The Arab-Israeli Wars. War and Peace in the Middle East. Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-367-0. p. 88
  2. ^ O'Ballance, Edgar (1956) The Arab-Israeli War. 1948. Faber & Faber, London. p. 191. ALA
  3. ^ O'Balance. p. 191
  4. ^ Karsh (2002), p. 68
  5. ^ Herzog. p. 91
  6. ^ Herzog. pp. 88–91
  7. ^ O'Ballance. pp. 184–92
  8. ^ Institute for Palestine Studies[permanent dead link] Morris, Benny "Operation Hiram Revisited: A Correction" in 28, no. 2 (Win. 99): 68–76.
  9. ^ Cohen, Aharon (1970) Israel and the Arab World. W.H. Allen. ISBN 0-491-00003-0. p. 439
  10. ^ Morris (2004), p. 473