Operation Shoter

Operation Shoter
Part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Date July 24–26, 1948 Location South of Haifa, Mandatory Palestine 32°38′41″N 34°59′17″E / 32.64472°N 34.98806°E / 32.64472; 34.98806 Result Israeli victory Depopulation of the Little Triangle
Belligerents
Israel	Palestinian Arabs
Commanders and leaders
Ben Zion Fridan (33rd)
Strength
Reinforced battalion	800 troops
Operation Shoter class=notpageimage| Location within Mandatory Palestine

Operation Shoter (Hebrew: מִבְצָע שׁוֹטֵר, Mivtza Shoter, lit. Operation Policeman), also Operation Jaba', was a three-day Israeli operation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War against an area called the "Little Triangle" south of Haifa. It was launched a week after the start of the second truce imposed by United Nations. The operation was carried out by units from the Golani, Carmeli and Alexandroni brigades with supporting troops, under the overall command of Alexandroni's 33rd Battalion. Arab forces consisted of local militia which was not part of any regular army. The objective of the operation was to clear the Tel Aviv – Haifa Road, which had been closed by the Arabs to Israeli traffic. The Israelis had been forced to take a long and dangerous route to the east through Wadi Milk.

The Israeli forces attacking on July 24 and throughout July 25 failed to take the villages due to stiff resistance and poor planning. Following heavy artillery shelling and bombing from the air, the Little Triangle's defenses broke and the three villages surrendered on July 26. The operation caused the depopulation of the Little Triangle, which according to a United Nations report consisted of 8,000 people. United Nations observers toured the destroyed villages after the attack and found no evidence of a massacre as claimed by Arab sources, although they concluded that the assault on the Little Triangle was unjustified.