Operation Dekel
(July 9-18, 1948)
The greatest offensive in the north during the ten
days of fighting [in between the first and second truce] was
"Operation Dekel," whose objective was to capture of Nazareth.
This effort was carried out by the 7th Brigade and a battalion from
the Carmeli Brigade, along with some elements from Golani
Brigade. Following the capture of numerous Arab positions between
the coast and the foothills southeast of Acre,
the force successfully attacked Shefaram on 14 July and pressed on
southeast to take Zippori the
following day, after stubborn fighting. When the force was less than
a mile away from the city of Nazareth, the commander of Nazareth sent
out an armored car unit to block its advance. The brigade column
advanced without pausing as it fired. The city surrendered on the eve
of 16 July. Qawuqji himself, together with the bulk of his forces,
succeeded in escaping into the mountains to the north through routes
that IDF troops had not yet had a chance to seal. The result of
"Operation Dekel" was to free the entire belt of Lower
Galilee from Haifa
Bay to Lake
Kinneret.
Sources: Israel Defense
Forces |