Operation Hiram
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Operation Hiram, possibly also known as the Battle of Sa'sa', was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War It was led by Moshe Carmel and aimed at capturing the entire Galilee region for Israel. The operation, which lasted just 60 hours (October 29-October 31) ended just before the ceasefire with the neighboring Arab countries went into effect. Its success ensured that the Upper Galilee, originally slated by the United Nations partition plan to be part of the Arab state of Palestine, would be controlled by the newly-formed state of Israel.
The operation was launched in response to an attack on the Jewish settlement of Manara by the Arab Liberation Army led by Fawzi el-Kaukji. Four IDF brigades (the Seventh, Carmeli Brigade, Givati, and Oded Brigades) counterattacked. The Seventh and Oded brigades advanced in a pincer movement toward the village of Sa'sa', the former coming from the town of Safed and the latter from Nahariyya, passing by the village of Tarshiha. Simultaneously, the Golani Brigade engaged in diversionary tactics in the direction of the village of Illaboun. The Carmeli Brigade, which was assigned to counter attacks from Syria and Lebanon, crossed the border into Lebanon, captured 41 villages, and reached the Litani River.
At the end of this lightning attack, Israeli forces reached the Hiram Junction, north of Safed. The siege of Manara was lifted, Qawukji's army was destroyed, and the roads crossing the Upper Galilee were secured. With the Galilee under Israeli control, the IDF established a defensive line along the Lebanese border.
The Israeli air bombings caused considerable damage to the villages in the area. Ilan Pappe gives the example of the four villages: Rama, Suhmata, Malkiyya and Kfar Bir'im. He states that out of the four 'the only village to remain intact was Rama. The other three were occupied and destroyed' [1]. Very few villagers were allowed to stay in their homes and many were imprisoned or expelled to Lebanon and elsewhere. Ilan Pappe claims that the 'Hebrew noun tihur (cleansing) assumed new meanings' during this time period. He argues that although 'it still described, as before, the total expulsion and destruction of a village, it could now also represent other activities, such as selective search and expulsion operations' [2].
People in this area were also subjected to massacres. About half of the acts of massacre were part of Operation Hiram (in the north, in October 1948): at Safsaf, Saliha, Jish, Eilaboun, Arab al Muwasi, Deir al Asad, Majdal Krum, Sa'sa'. In Operation Hiram there was an unusually high concentration of executions of people against a wall or next to a well in an orderly fashion.
The name is a reference to Hiram, the Biblical king of Tyre. He was instrumental in construction of the First Temple.
Palestinian communities captured in Operation Hiram
| Name | Date | Resistance | Brigade | Massacre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Nabi Rubin | Early October 1948 | none | n/a | |
| Suhmata | October 30, 1948 | none | Golani Brigade | |
| Dayr al-Qassi | October 30, 1948 | none | n/a | |
| Arab al-Samniyya | October 30-31, 1948 | none | 7th, Carmeli, Golani, Oded | |
| Eilabun | October 30, 1948 | none | Golani | Documented, 14 dead |
| Iqrit | October 31, 1948 | none | Oded Brigade | |
| Iribbin, Khirbat | October 31, 1948 | none | Oded Brigade | |
| Kafr 'Inan | October 30, 1948 | none | Golani Brigade | |
| Marus | October 30, 1948 | none | 7th Brigade | |
| Mirun | October 29, 1948 | none | 7th, Carmeli | |
| Safsaf | October 29, 1948 | ALA 2nd Battalion | ? | |
| Jish | October 29, 1948 | Syrian battalion | 7th Brigade | |
| Sa'sa | October 30, 1949 | none | 7th, Druze unit | |
| Suruh | November 1948 | none | ? | |
| Tarbikha | November 1948 | none | Oded Brigade |
Brigades participating in Operation Hiram
See also
- http://www.aipac.org/leg-briefing%20book/6.%20History%20of%20Arab-Israeli%20Conflict%20Timeline.pdf
- http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_independence_war_atrocities_arab.php
- http://www.zionism-israel.com/Gush_Etzion_Massacre.htm]
- http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_independence_war_atrocities_arab.php
- The sons of Eilaboun tells the story of the human toll that Operation Hiram claimed on in the village Eilaboun.