Operation Yoav (also calledOperation Ten Plagues orOperation Yo'av) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in theNegev Desert, during the1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between theEgyptian forces along the coast and theBeersheba–Hebron–Jerusalem road, and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commanderYigal Allon. The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubno, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach. Dubno, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of the kibbutzim Negba and Yad Mordechai. Dubno was killed in an air raid on Kibbutz Negba shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.
In the central and northern parts ofPalestine, the Israelis had managed to make substantial territorial gains before the second truce of the war went into effect. But the southern Negev Desert, allocated to aJewish state in the 1947United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, was still under Egyptian control. Despite the second truce, the Egyptians denied Jewish convoys passage through to the Negev, and captured positions beyond the truce demarcation lines.[1]
Operation Ten Plagues (after the punishment God sent to the Egyptians for holding the Israelis captive in theHebrew Bible) was made and approved at a Cabinet Session 6 October 1948. The operation came after at 14 October 1948 when a convoy consisting of 16 trucks was fired on as it passed through Egyptian positions.
Ralph Bunche, who had become UN mediator after the assassination of CountFolke Bernadotte, said:
The Operation coincided withOperation ha-Har, 18–24 October, in which theHarel andEtzioni Brigades attacked Egyptian controlled villages along theJerusalem Corridor.[4]
The Israeli forces consisted of three infantry brigades, theNegev Brigade, theGivati Brigade under the command of Abraham "Kiki" Elkin, and theYiftach Brigade, an armored battalion from the8th Armored Brigade and the largest artillery formation that had been available to theIDF at the time. On October 18 theOded Brigade also joined in the operation. In the evening of October 15 the Israeli Air Force bombedGaza,al-Majdal (nowAshkelon),Beersheba andBeit Hanoun. Some targets were bombed again during the following two nights. A battalion of the Yiftach Brigade mined the railroad betweenEl-Arish andRafah and various roads in the Gaza area, also drivinga wedge into the road. Two battalions of the Givati Brigade drove south east ofIraq al-Manshiyya (nowKiryat Gath), thus cutting the road betweenal-Faluja andBayt Jibrin. Beit Jibrin was captured by the 52 Battalion of Givati and the 8th Brigade on October 23.[5]
In the early morning hours of October 21, following two nights of air raids, the Negev Brigade and 8th Armored Brigade attacked Beersheba from the west. Another force joined them from the north. The Egyptian army garrison consisted of 500 soldiers with some light artillery. They put up some resistance for five hours before surrendering.[6] The conquest of Beersheba was namedOperation Moshe, after Moshe Albert, who fell defending the besiegedBeit Eshel.[7]
While a truce was ordered for 15:00 hours on 22 October, action in the days immediately following the operation, and associated with it, continued.[8]
After the Egyptians retreated southward fromAshdod (October 28) andal-Majdal (November 6) to Gaza, the coastal strip down to Yad Mordechai was occupied by Israeli forces.[8] On 9 November, theIraq Suwaydan fortress was captured and renamed the Yoav Fortress in honor of the operation.[8]
On 29 October soldiers from the 8th Brigade carried out amassacre at al-Dawayima, killing 80-200+ Palestinians.[9][10][11]
Towards the end of the operation General Allon sought permission to launch an attack on theHebron hills and into theJericho valley.David Ben-Gurion refused, mainly due to fears that this would lead to British involvement.[12]
The United Nations Refugee Relief Project reported that the Gaza Strip's refugee population had jumped from 100,000 to 230,000 as a result of Operation Yoav.[13] This figure does not include those who fled to the Hebron Hills.[14]
| Name | Population (1944/45)[15] | Date | Defending forces | Brigade | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayt 'Affa | 700 | 2nd half of October 1948 | Egyptian army | n/a | First captured byGiv'ati Brigade in July but only held for a few days. Population fled and village destroyed. |
| Bayt Tima | 1,060 | 11/19 October | n/a but a Saudi company here in early July as well as Palestinian Militia. | Givati Brigade | Bombarded by planes and artillery prior to capture. Population fled and village destroyed. |
| Hulayqat | 420 | 19 October | Egyptian Army:600 regular soldiers with '100 killed' | Givati Brigade | Captured and held by the Israeli army followingOperation Barak. Retaken by Egyptians on 7 July. Some villagers returned but fled in October. Village destroyed. |
| Kawkaba | 680 | 20 October | Saudi Company present in June | Givati Brigade | On front line between Egyptians and Israelis. Changed hands several times during the summer. Villagers fled and buildings destroyed. |
| Beersheba | 5,570 | 21 October | Egyptian Army | 8th Armored Brigade,Negev Brigade | Arabs expelled, 10 km radius exclusion zone enforced on Bedouin. |
| Ra'na | 190 | 22–23 October | n/a | Givati Brigade | Those villagers who remained expelled and village destroyed. |
| Zikrin | 960 | 22–23 October | n/a | Givati Brigade | depopulated and village destroyed. |
| Kidna | 450 | 22–23 October | Arab Liberation Army,Muslim Brotherhood volunteers and local militia. | Givati Brigade | depopulated and village destroyed. |
| 'Ajjur | 3,730 | 23 October | n/a | 4th Battalion,Givati Brigade | depopulated, most inhabitants left after earlier attacks. Town destroyed. |
| Dayr al-Dubban | 730 | 23–24 October | none | Givati Brigade | Most of villagers fled, some expelled. Village destroyed. |
| Bayt Jibrin | 2,430 | 24 October | Egyptian Army unit in police fort. | Givati Brigade | Bombed from the air on 18 October and on several subsequent occasions. Town depopulated but not all buildings destroyed. |
| Al-Qubayba | 1,060 | 28 October | none | Givati orHarel Brigade | Population fled and village destroyed. |
| Isdud | 4,910 including 290 Jews | 28 October | Egyptians withdrew | Givati Brigade | Bombed for three nights by theIAF. 300 villagers who remained expelled. Village destroyed. |
| al-Dawayima | 3,710 | 29 October | no organized defense | 89th Battalion,8th Brigade | Village destroyed. |
| Dayr Sunayd | 730 | Late October | Egyptian Army, 9th Battalion includingGamal Abdel Nasser | n/a | Bombed from air during early stages of operation. Villagers fled and village destroyed. |
| Al-Khalasa | Azazima Bedouin | End of October | Egyptian Army | Negev Brigade | Possibly captured in May. Destroyed. |
| Hamama | 5,070 including 60 Jews | 4 November | Egyptian Army | Givati Brigade | Occupants fled or expelled. Village destroyed in operation on 30 November. |
| Al-Jiyya | 1,230 | 4 November | n/a | Givati Brigade | Villagers expelled and village destroyed. |
| Al-Jura | 2,420 | 4 November | no resistance | Givati Brigade | villagers expelled and village destroyed. |
| al-Majdal | 9,910 | 4 November | Egyptian Army | Givati Brigade,Negev Brigade,Yiftach Brigade | Townspeople who had remained or returned finally expelled in 1950. |
| Hiribya | 2,300 including 60 Jews | early November | Egyptian Army | n/a | Another location bombed from air. Population fled or expelled, buildings destroyed. |
| Bayt Jirja | 940 | 4–5 November | n/a | Givati Brigade,Negev Brigade,Yiftach Brigade | population fled or expelled, village destroyed. |
| Barbara | 2,410 | 5 November | n/a | n/a | Bombed from air during early stage of operation. Depopulated and town destroyed. |