The War of Independence was waged by the Jews of Palestine for survival, freedom, and political independence against the Arabs, mainly from the neighboring countries, between the end of November 1947 and July 1949.

The war can be divided into two distinct phases: the first began on Nov. 30, 1947, the day after the UN General Assembly adopted its resolution on the partition of Palestine, and ended on May 15, 1948, when the British forces and administration were withdrawn from the country; the second started on the day after the British evacuation and came to an end on July 20, 1949, when the last of the armistice agreements was signed (with Syria).

In the first phase, the yishuv and its defense forces were under attack by Palestinian Arabs, aided by irregular volunteers from Arab countries. In the six weeks preceding the establishment of the State of Israel, Jewish forces took Haifa, Jaffa, Safed, and Tiberias, encircled Acre, and captured about 100 Arab villages. Apart from the Latrun sector of the Jerusalem road, the Jewish armed forces could move freely on most of the major arteries of communication.

Israeli flag draped around remains of an armored car destroyed in Sha'ar ha-Gai in Jerusalem during the war of Independence,1948.

In the second phase, the army of newly independent Israel-officially established on May 28 as the Israel Defense Forces-fought primarily against regular troops from Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Syria, and Lebanon, who were supported by volunteer detachments from Saudi Arabia, Libya, and the Yemen.

In the south, Egyptian forces advanced in two columns up the coast toward Tel Aviv but were stopped by a handful of kibbutz defenders at Kefar Darom and Nirim, which they were forced to bypass. At Yad Mordekhai a heroic five-day holding action enabled I.D.F. forces to strengthen its defenses nearer to Tel Aviv and successfully block the Egyptian advance at Ashdod bridge. Meanwhile Jerusalem and the corridor to the west were the scenes of continuous bitter fighting. The Israelis suffered heavy losses and several serious setbacks, the most important of which were the loss of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and the failure to take Latrun at the western end of the corridor. But they emerged with West Jerusalem intact and in possession of a tenuous link with the coast when a rough dirt track dubbed the "Burma Road" was made serviceable as an alternative supply route. In the north, the Syrians crossed into Israel just south of Lake Kinneret. The Syrian aim was to rout the kibbutzim in the Jordan Valley and then make a lightning dash westward through mostly Arab-held territory of Lower Galilee to Haifa. Zemah fell after stubborn fighting; Sha'ar ha-Golan and Massadah had to be evacuated but Deganyah held and the Syrians retired.

On June 11, a truce supervised by the UN went into effect. The truce ended on July 9 and hostilities were resumed. On the southern front, two IDF brigades fought continuously for eight days to contain the more powerful Egyptians, break their line, and join in the defense of local kibbutzim. When the second truce came into effect on July 18, Egyptian east-west communications were severed and the Israelis had a direct land connection with the Negev.

The IDF's greatest offensive effort during the ten days of fighting between the two truces was directed against the Arab Legion on the central front. By July 12, Ramleh, Rosh ha-Ayin, and Lydda airport had been taken. I.D.F. forces then moved on Jerusalem, but the second truce found the Old City still held by the Arab Legion. The most spectacular operation in the north during the ten days of fighting was "Operation Dekel," which culminated in the capture of Nazareth.

I.D.F Homemde armor advancing to Jerusalem through the Judean Hills, October 1948

Breaches of the second truce, which went into effect on July 18, began almost from the first day. In the Jerusalem area the Arab Legion intensified its bombardment of the New City. In the south, the Egyptians denied Jewish convoys passage through the Hatta-Karatiyya gap in their line. On October 15, the Israel army and air force turned to the offensive after the Egyptians had attacked a convoy proceeding south and raided inter-kibbutz communications. In a brisk seven days' campaign known as Operation Yo'av, the road to the Negev was opened and the Negev was cleared of Egyptian troops, with Beersheba captured on the 21st. By October 31, the entire Galilee was clear of the Arab Liberation Army. In Operation Horev, lasting from December 22 to January 7, the Egyptians were pushed into Sinai and on the afternoon of March 10, 1949, the Israel flag was hoisted on a few mud buildings, abandoned by a Transjordanian detachment, at what was known then as Umm Rashrash and now as Eilat. Between February and July armistices agreements were signed between the warring parties. These acts officially ended Israel's War of Independence.