Battle of Nitzanim 1948
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 10 June 1948 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1948 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Israel | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | 1948 Arab–Israeli War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 31.7166, 34.6338 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Nitzanim was fought between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, on June 7, 1948 (29 Iyar, 5708 in the Hebrew calendar). It was the first major Egyptian victory of the war, and one of the few cases of Israeli surrender.
The battle began on the night of June 6–7 with an artillery bombardment of Nitzanim, followed by an aerial bombardment and armored and infantry attacks. The main attack broke through the Israeli defenses at around 11:00; the Israelis retreated to a second position, and finally to a third position at 14:00. At 16:00, 105 Israelis surrendered to the Egyptian Army. Between June 7 and 10, the Battle of Hill 69 was fought nearby. The hill was captured by the Egyptians after a disorganized Israeli retreat.
Israelis viewed the surrender of Nitzanim as a humiliation, especially after the Givati Brigade published a leaflet denouncing the defenders. The residents of Nitzanim demanded a probe into the battle, and one was conducted by the General Staff, siding with the residents and coming to the conclusion that surrender was justified.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Nitzanim (revision 1370270842), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
- Battle of 'Auja 1948
- Battle of Be'erot Yitzhak 1948
- Battle of Beersheba (1948) 1948
- Battle of Gesher 1948
- Battle of Hill 86 1948
- Battle of Jenin (1948) 1948
- Battle of Nirim 1948
- Battle of Yad Mordechai 1948
- Battles of Latrun (1948) 1948
- Battles of Negba 1948
All 14 battles of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War →
Browse more: battles in Israel · Asia · Post-1945 battles