Operation Hametz | ||||||||||
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Part of the Plan Dalet, the Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, and the Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine | ||||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
Menachem Begin Amichai Paglin | ? | Gordon MacMillan | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
Irgun: 42 dead, ~400 wounded[1] | Unknown | Total losses unclear; several tanks destroyed[1] |
Operation Hametz (Hebrew: מבצע חמץ, Mivtza Hametz) was a Zionist operation towards the end of Mandatory Palestine, as part of the 1948 Palestine war. It was launched at the end of April 1948 with the objective of capturing villages inland from Jaffa and establishing a blockade around the town.[2] The operation, which led to the first direct battle between the British and the Irgun, was seen as a great victory for the latter, and enabled the Irgun to take credit for the complete conquest of Jaffa that happened on May 13.[1]
The battle was the first and only time that the British became heavily involved in fighting between the Jews and the Arabs during the 1948 Palestine war.[3]