Operation Barak (, ''Mivtza Barak'', lit. ''Operation Lightning'') was a

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

offensive launched just before the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. It was part of Plan Dalet. Its objective was to capture villages North of Gaza in anticipation of the arrival of the

Egyptian army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

. It was undertaken by the newly formed

Giv'ati brigade The 84th "Givati" Brigade () is an Israel Defense Forces Israeli Infantry Corps, infantry brigade formed in 1947. During the 1948 Palestine war, 1948 war, it was involved in List of towns and villages depopulated during the 1947–1949 Palesti ...

, commanded by

Shimon Avidan Shimon Avidan (; February 7, 1911 – September 11, 1994), born Siegbert Koch (), was a Palmach soldier and IDF military leader. He was the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Biography Early life Shimon Avidan ...

Background

Operational orders defined the Giv'ati

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s objectives as: "To deny the enemy a base ... creating general panic and breaking his morale ... cause the flight of the inhabitants of the smaller settlements in the area." Commander Avidan's instructions were: "You will determine alone, in consultation with your Arab affair advisers and Intelligence Service officer, the villages in your zone that should be occupied, cleaned up or destroyed." According to historian

Benny Morris Benny Morris (; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. Morris was initially associated with the ...

, Avidan preferred the latter option.
As a prelude, the Giv'ati brigade's first action took place on 4 May 1948 when the brigade occupied ' Aqir, south west of al-Ramle, population 2,480.

Operation

The offensive was launched on 9 May with Bayt Daras being subjected to mortar bombardment prior to being occupied. Subsequently, village houses were blown up. A second round of attacks were launched on 15 May.

Aftermath

Two months later the Giv'ati brigade carried out a further operation in this area capturing at least 16 villages and creating 'more than 20,000' refugees.Morris, pp.212,213, reference given as Giv'ati Brigade's official history (in Hebrew).

Communities captured during Operation Barak

References

Bibliography

Walid Khalidi Walid Khalidi (; born in Jerusalem on July 16, 1925) is a Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an inde ...

, All That Remains, . Uses 1945 census for population figures. *