Operation “Yiftach”
(April 30, 1948)
On April 30, Operation "Yiftach" was
launched to capture the strategically-important town of Safed in the Galilee.On the eve of the British withdrawal from Safed on 15
April, the Palmach had
infiltrated into Safed, bolstering the defenses of the besieged
Jewish quarter. With the withdrawal of British forces, the Arabs had
managed to take control of strategically advantageous points in the
city, including: a police fortress on Mount Cana'an, an ancient
fortress in the town and an additional strategically-located
building, Shalva House. On April 28, Haganah forces occupied the Rosh Pinah police fortress and a neighboring army
camp as soon as these were evacuated by the British. Circumventing
Mount Cana'an, Palmach forces occupied the villages of Birya and Ein
Zeitun to the North of Safed and from here opened a corridor leading
into the Jewish quarter of Safed through which the supplies were
brought by soldiers into the starving quarter. On May 3, a second
Palmach unit entered Safed, but the first Jewish attack, on May 6,
ended in failure; the Arabs brought in reinforcements and began using
artillery. A new attack, on May 10, resulted in the capture of the
key positions in the town. The Safed Arabs, numbering some 10,000
fled the town, despite Jewish assurances they would not be harmed.
This enabled the Jewish Forces to take control of a continuous area
in eastern and Upper Galilee.
Sources: Israel Defense
Forces |