List of killings and massacres in Mandatory Palestine explained

This is a list of killings and massacres committed in Mandatory Palestine. It is restricted to incidents in which at least three people were deliberately killed. This list does not include unlawful deaths due to criminal activity. It includes all casualties that resulted from the initial attack on civilians or non-combat military personnel.

Note: The designation "responsible party" below refers to those believed to be the principal instigators of the violence. Where culpability is disputed or ambiguous, the sources cited support the chosen designation.

Individual massacres during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine are listed below. In total, during the course of these events, between September 27, 1937 – 1939, 5,000 Arabs, 415 Jews and several hundred Britons were killed.

List of killings and massacres committed in Mandate Palestine

Namedata-sort-type="date" DateResponsible partyFatalitiesnotes
Battle of Tel HaiMarch 1, 1920Arabs138 Jews,[1] 5 Arabs killed Armed Arabs were looking for French soldiers, and Jews mounted armed resistance.
Nebi Musa riotsApril 4–7, 1920Arabs95 Jews, 4 Arabs killed; 216 Jews, 18 Arabs, 7 Britons wounded Started by inflammatory language at an Arab rally. Origin of violence uncertain, but a witness reported stone throwing by Arabs.
Jaffa riotsMay 1–7, 1921Arabs9548 Arabs, 47 Jews killed; 140 Jews, 73 Arabs wounded. Began as a fight between two Jewish groups. Arabs joined in because they thought they were being attacked.
Palestine riots of 1929August 23–29, 1929Arabs249133 Jews, 116 Arabs killed; 339 Jews, 232 Arabs wounded;[2] [3] includes the Hebron massacre (67 Jews killed; 58 Jews wounded and a massacre in Safed (18–20 Jews killed; 80 Jews wounded) Mostly violence by Arabs against Jews; most Arabs killed by Mandate police. Thought triggered by a recent Jewish demonstration.
Black Hand killings at Kibbutz Yagur[4] April 11, 1931Syrian/Palestinian armed group33 jews at Kibbutz Yagur
1931-1932 attacks of the Black Hand1931-1932Syrian/Palestinian armed group66 Jews
1933 Palestine riots in Jaffa [5] October 27, 1933 British police, Arab rioters161 Arab policeman, 15 Arab demonstrators shot by British forces, 1 Arab child hit by a stray bullet.
1933 Palestine riots in Haifa October 27–28, 1933 British police44 Palestinian rioters killed, 1 policeman stabbed, 3 Palestinian rioters wounded, 5 Jewish civilians injured by rioters, 4 of them seriously.
Jaffa riots (April 1936)April 19–20, 1936Arabs219 Jews killed, 40 Jews wounded (11 critically) in Arab attack in Jaffa. Police killed two attackers. Further 7 Jews and 3 Arabs killed the next day[6] [7] [8]
Arab General StrikeApril 20 – October 12, 1936Arabs, British authorities314197 Arabs killed and 823 wounded, 80 Jews killed and 300 wounded, 37 military and police killed and 95 wounded.[9]
NAAugust 13, 1937Arabs44 members of a Jewish family, 3 children, shot dead by Arabs who broke into their home in Safed[10]
NANovember 9, 1937Arabs55 Jewish Keren Kayemet workers killed near Har Haruach by an Arab ambush. Ma'ale HaHamisha was named in their honor.[11]
N/AMarch 28, 1938Arabs66 Jewish passengers killed by Arabs while traveling from Haifa to Safed.
N/AAugust 16, 1938Arabs3A Jewish family was kidnapped by Arabs in Atlit. 3 killed.[12] [13]
1938 Tiberias pogromOctober 2, 1938Arabs1919 Jews were killed.[14]
N/AFebruary 27, 1939Jewish militants
3333 Arabs were killed in multiple attacks, incl. 24 by bomb in Arab market in Suk Quarter of Haifa and 4 by bomb in Arab vegetable market in Jerusalem.[15]
N/AJune 2, 1939Jewish militants
55 Arabs were killed by a bomb at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem.[16] [17]
N/AJune 19, 1939Jewish Militants
2020 Arabs were killed by explosives mounted on a donkey at a marketplace in Haifa.[18]
Italian Bombing of Tel AvivSeptember 9, 1940 Italian Air Force137130 Jews and 7 Arabs killed in a bombing run.[19]
Italian Bombing of Tel AvivJune 11, 1941 Italian Air Force2020 Jews killed in Tel Aviv during Italian air raid [20]
N/ANovember 1, 1945Jewish militants
45 locomotives destroyed in Lydda station. Two staff, one soldier and one policeman killed. One of the bombers, Yehiel Dresner, was later executed for other crimes.[21]
King David Hotel bombingJuly 22, 1946Jewish militants
9191 killed, including 41 Arabs, 28 Britons, and 17 Jews; 40-45 wounded[22] [23]
Fajja bus attacksNovember 30, 1947Arab militants77 Jews killed in two incidents by gunfire[24]
1947 Jerusalem riotsDecember 2, 1947Arabs148 Jews Reported Killed[25] [26]
al-TiraDecember 12, 1947Jewish militants1313 Arabs killed, 10 wounded[27] [28]
N/ADecember 12, 1947Jewish militants
2020 killed, 5 wounded by barrel bomb at Damascus Gate.[29]
N/ADecember 13, 1947Jewish militants
1616 Arabs killed; 67 Arabs wounded from bombings in Jerusalem and Jaffa; Irgun also burns down 100 Arab homes in Jaffa
N/ADecember 16, 1947Jewish militants
1010 killed by bomb at Noga Cinema in Jaffa.[30]
al-Khisas massacreDecember 18, 1947Jewish militants
1010 Arabs killed
N/ADecember 24, 1947Arab snipers84 Jews killed in Haifa by snipers, 4 Arabs killed in reprisals
N/ADecember 26, 1947Arab militants77 Jews killed while driving in convoy to Jerusalem
N/ADecember 28, 1947Arab Snipers105 Jews killed in Bab el Wad by snipers, 5 Arabs killed in reprisals
N/ADecember 29, 1947Arab militants174 Jews killed in Tel Aviv from mortar and sniper fire, 13 Arabs killed in Jerusalem in Irgun bombing[31]
Bomb thrown on Damascus Gate Café in JerusalemDecember 29, 1947Jewish militants
1311 Arabs, 2 Britons killed[32] Uri Milstein reported 15 casualties from the bombing in the Palestine Post.[33]
Haifa Oil Refinery massacreDecember 30, 1947Arabs39Arabs beat 39 Jews to death and injured 49 after an Irgun bombing which killed 6
Balad al-Shaykh massacreJanuary 1, 1948Jewish militants
5017–70 Arabs killed in Haifa
N/AJanuary 3, 1948Arab militants43 Jews, 1 Briton killed in Jerusalem
Bombing of Arab National Committee HQJanuary 4, 1948Jewish militants
1414 Arabs killed; 100 Arabs wounded
Semiramis Hotel bombingJanuary 5, 1948Jewish militants
2020 Arabs killed in Jerusalem[34]
N/AJanuary 5, 1948Jewish militants
1414 Arabs killed and 19 injured by truck bomb outside the 3-storey 'Serrani', Jaffa's built Ottoman Town Hall[35]
N/AJanuary 5, 1948Arabs, Jews44 Arabs killed after attacking Jewish quarter in Safed
Jaffa Gate bombing in JerusalemJanuary 7, 1948Jewish militants
1815–20 Arabs killed[36]
N/AJanuary 10, 1948Arab militants 1111 Jews killed, 1 decapitated near Yavne
N/AJanuary 14, 1948Arab militants77 Jews, 2 Britons killed in Haifa
Convoy of 35January 15, 1948Arab militants3535 Jewish militants going to resupply blockaded kibbutzim at Gush Etzion attacked near Hebron by Arab militants.[37] It is known that the Jewish militants fought back, but there is little of Arab casualties.
N/AJanuary 20, 1948Arab militants88 Jews killed in Yehiam
N/AJanuary 22, 1948Arab militants77 Jews killed near Yazur
N/AJanuary 25, 1948Arab militants1010 Jews killed
N/AJanuary 27, 1948 British soldiers44 Arabs killed in Gaza
N/AFebruary 3, 1948Arab militants66 Jews killed while riding buses in Haifa
N/AFebruary 7, 1948Arabs, Jews63 Arabs, 3 Jews killed in Haifa
N/AFebruary 8, 1948Arabs66 Jews killed in Jerusalem
N/AFebruary 8, 1948Arab militants33 Jews killed in Tel Aviv
N/AFebruary 10, 1948Jewish militants
77 Arabs killed near Ras el Ain after selling cows in Tel Aviv[38]
N/AFebruary 12, 1948Arabs44 Jews killed in Jerusalem
N/AFebruary 15, 1948Arab militants, Jewish militants85 Arabs, 3 Jews killed
Sa'sa' village ambush in the Safad districtFebruary 14, 1948Jewish militants
11-60Reports vary from 11 Arabs killed,[39] to 60 Arabs killed.[40] Reported to be revenge for Convoy of 35.
N/AFebruary 17, 1948Arab militants, Jewish militants85 Arabs, 3 Jews killed
N/AFebruary 17, 1948Jewish settlers5757 Arabs killed while taking part in attack on Jewish settlements Tirat Tzvi, Sde Eliahu, Ein HaNatziv
Ramla vegetable market bombingFebruary 18, 1948Jewish militants
1212 killed, 43 wounded[41]
N/AFebruary 19, 1948Arab militants44 Jews killed while riding buses in Haifa
N/AFebruary 21, 1948Jewish militants44 Arabs killed in Haifa
Ben Yehuda Street bombingFebruary 22, 1948Arab militants, British deserters5555 Jews killed
N/AFebruary 25, 1948Arab militants33 Jews killed on road between Ramle and Tel Aviv
N/AFebruary 28, 1948Arab militants76 Arabs, 1 Jew killed during attack on Jewish village Kfar Sava
N/AFebruary 18, 1948Arab militants44 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish settlement Mitzpe
Rehovot Train bombingMarch 1, 1948Jewish militants2828 Britons killed
Bevingrad Officers Club bombingMarch 1, 1948Jewish militants
2020 Britons killed; 30 Britons wounded[42]
N/AMarch 1, 1948Arab militants44 Jews killed on Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road
N/AMarch 2, 1948Arab militants1310 Arabs, 3 Jews killed during Arab attack on Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road
N/AMarch 3, 1948Jewish militants
11Car bombing in Haifa killed 11 Arabs[43]
N/AMarch 4, 1948Arab militants1616 Jews killed on Jerusalem-Atarot road
N/AMarch 9, 1948Arab militants33 Arabs killed while attacking a Jewish settlement Yehiam
N/AMarch 11, 1948Jews, Arabs54 Arabs, 1 Jew killed in Tiberias
Jewish Agency bombingMarch 11, 1948Arab militants1313 Jews killed
N/AMarch 14, 1948Arab militants77 Jews killed near Faluja
N/AMarch 14, 1948Jews, Arabs54 Arabs, 1 Jew killed in Tiberias
N/AMarch 18, 1948Arab militants95 Britons, 4 Jews killed in convoy near Acre
N/AMarch 20, 1948Arabs77 Jews killed at Ein Harod
N/AMarch 21, 1948Arabs66 Jews killed on Rosh Pinna-Safed road
N/AMarch 22, 1948Arab militants244 Jews, 20 Arabs during attack on Jewish settlement Nitzanim
N/AMarch 24, 1948Jewish militants3636 Arabs killed near Tulkarem
N/AMarch 26, 1948Arab militants86 Arabs, 2 Jews killed in attack on Jewish convoy near Gaza
N/AMarch 28, 1948Arab militants66 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish convoy near Rehovot
N/AMarch 30, 1948Arab militants108 Jews and 2 British killed while fleeing from Jaffa
Cairo-Haifa train bombingMarch 31, 1948Jewish militants
4040 Arabs killed; 60 Arabs wounded
Massacre in an orange grove in LyddaApril 1, 1948Jewish militias1111 Arab laborers killed[44]
NAApril 5, 1948Jewish militants
1010 Iraqis killed by Jewish militants in Lydda.
Deir Yassin massacreApril 9, 1948Jewish militants
107100-254 Arabs killed[45] [46] [47]
Hadassah medical convoy massacreApril 13, 1948Arab militants7978 Jews (nurses, doctors, and patients) and one British soldier killed[48] [49]
Ein al Zeitun massacreMay 3, 1948Jewish militants
5537–70 Arab prisoners
Kfar Etzion massacreMay 13, 1948Arab militants and Arab Legion129127–157 Jews killed
Abu Shusha massacreMay 13–14, 1948 Israel
60–70+60–70 Arabs killed

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gilbert, Martin. Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict . 2005 . . 0-415-35901-5.
  2. Web site: Communal relations - Jewish and Arab in the city of Hebron (2005). 2009-07-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20071008013718/http://avo.co.il/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2765. 2007-10-08. dead.
  3. [Shaw Report]
  4. Lachman, Shai (1982). "Arab Rebellion and Terrorism in Palestine 1929–1939". In Kedourie, Elie; Haim, Sylvie G. (eds.). Zionism and Arabism in Palestine and Israel. Frank Cass. ISBN 978-0-714-63169-1.
  5. Web site: The Murison Commission Report - 4 January 1934 (Historical Text) .
  6. Web site: ⁨דבר⁩ | עמוד 1 | 20 אפריל 1936 | אוסף העיתונות | הספרייה הלאומית. www.nli.org.il.
  7. Web site: ⁨דבר⁩ | עמוד 8 | 20 אפריל 1936 | אוסף העיתונות | הספרייה הלאומית. www.nli.org.il.
  8. Web site: ⁨דבר⁩ | עמוד 2 | 25 יוני 1937 | אוסף העיתונות | הספרייה הלאומית. www.nli.org.il.
  9. News: Palestine Post. October 30, 1936. 1, 7. Ormsby-Gore on Local Situation.
  10. Web site: אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - חוה אונגר ז"ל. 2014-11-19. 2021-03-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20210313080555/http://www.laad.btl.gov.il/Web/He/Victims/111.aspx?ID=35813. dead.
  11. Web site: אתר ההנצחה לחללי מערכות ישראל. אתר ההנצחה לחללי מערכות ישראל.
  12. Web site: אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - ברוריה ליזרוביץ ז"ל. 2014-11-19. 2021-03-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20210321233550/http://www.laad.btl.gov.il/Web/He/Victims/111.aspx?ID=35932. dead.
  13. Web site: אזרחים חללי פעולות איבה - חיפוש לפי שם, אירוע או מקום מגורים - אליהו אליק קירז'נר ז"ל. 2014-11-19. 2021-03-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20210322094652/http://www.laad.btl.gov.il/Web/He/Victims/111.aspx?ID=38456. dead.
  14. Web site: Mandate for Palestine - Report of the Mandatory to the LoN (31 December 1938) . domino.un.org . 2012 . Tiber . 16 April 2012 . 9 January 2015 . https://archive.today/20150109170907/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/cc68bab76ec42e79052565d0006f2df4?OpenDocument . dead .
  15. Y. Ben-Ami, Years of Wrath, Days of Glory; Memoirs of the Irgun, Speller and Sons, New York 1982; p 229. Casualty figures from Palestine Post Feb 28, 1939.
  16. Y. 'Amrami, A. Melitz, דברי הימים למלחמת השחרור ("History of the War of Independence", Shelach Press, 1951).
  17. http://www.etzel.org.il/english/index.html The Irgun web site
  18. Palestine Post, June 20–22, 1939
  19. Web site: This Week in History: Italy bombs Tel Aviv . jpost.com . 2011 . 5 May 2024 . 31 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220331210250/https://www.jpost.com/Features/In-Thespotlight/This-Week-in-History-Italy-bombs-Tel-Aviv . live .
  20. https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?sits=1&req=41738&st=%u05e2%u05e8%u05d1%u05d9%u05dd Dr. Yom-Tov Levinsky, מחורבן לחורבן - page 83
  21. Horne, Edward (1982). A Job Well Done (Being a History of The Palestine Police Force 1920 - 1948). The Anchor Press. . Page 289.
  22. Web site: Irgun Zvai Leumi | Jewish right-wing underground movement | Britannica. www.britannica.com. 24 September 2023 .
  23. Web site: THE BOMBING OF THE KING DAVID HOTEL. etzel.org.il. 2023-02-07. 2023-05-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20230501163213/https://etzel.org.il/english/ac10.htm. dead.
  24. Web site: Arab-Israeli wars. Britannica.com.
  25. Web site: Jerusalem riots. rarenewspapers.com.
  26. http://images.rarenewspapers.com/ebayimgs/6.17.2012/image043.jpg
  27. Web site: al-Tira - الطيرة -Haifa - Palestine Remembered.
  28. Palestine Post, December 14; Milstein, Vol 11, p91
  29. Uri Milstein, History of Israel's War of Independence, Vol II. p51
  30. Milstein, Vol II, p81.
  31. Milstein, Vol II, p214.
  32. Web site: Timeline of British Rule in Palestine (1918-1947). www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  33. History of Israel's War of Independence. Uri Milstein. II. Palestine Post. 30 December 1947. 51.
  34. Web site: The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. www.nytimes.com.
  35. The Scotsman newspaper, Jan 6, 1948
  36. History of Israel's War of Independence. Uri Milstein. III. 95–96. Palestine Post. 9 January 1948.
  37. https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?sits=1&req=41738&st=%u05e2%u05e8%u05d1%u05d9%u05dd Dr.Yom-Tov Levinsky מחורבן לחורבן 1956
  38. Palestine Post, Feb 13, 1948
  39. Book: Khalidi, Walid . Walid Khalidi . . 2006 . . 0-88728-306-3. 496.
  40. Book: Benny Morris . 1948 . 106 . 2008 . Yale University Press.
  41. Web site: Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem. https://web.archive.org/web/20100620145357/http://palestine-encyclopedia.com/EPP/Chapter07_3of7.htm. dead. June 20, 2010.
  42. Book: Bard, Mitchell G. . The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict . 2005 . Alpha . 1-59257-410-6.
  43. Book: Bose, Sumantra . 2007 . Contested Land . Harvard University Press . 230–231 . 9780674028562 .
  44. Web site: Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem . 2007-12-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071007023218/http://www.palestine-encyclopedia.com/EPP/Chapter07_6of7.htm . 2007-10-07 . dead .
  45. Kana'ana, Sharif and Zeitawi, Nihad (1987), "The Village of Deir Yassin," Bir Zeit, Bir Zeit University Press, 1987)
  46. Book: Morris, Benny . Benny Morris . The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited . limited . 2004 . . Cambridge, UK; New York . 0-521-81120-1 . Chapter 4: The second wave: the mass exodus, April—June 1948, Section: Operation Nahshon. 238.
  47. Book: Milstein, Uri . Uri Milstein . History of the War of Independence IV: Out of Crisis Came Decision . University Press of America, Inc. . 1987 . 1998 . Lanhan, Maryland . he, en . Alan Sacks . Alan Sacks . 0-7618-1489-2 . 377 . Chapter 16: Deir Yassin, Section 12: The Massacre.
  48. Web site: Israel | Facts, History, Population, & Map | Britannica. www.britannica.com. 13 September 2023 .
  49. Book: Milstein, Uri . Uri Milstein . History of the War of Independence IV: Out of Crisis Came Decision . University Press of America, Inc. . 1987 . 1998 . Lanhan, Maryland . he, en . Alan Sacks . Alan Sacks . 0-7618-1489-2 . 387 . Chapter 16: Deir Yassin, Section 16: Brutality and Hypocrisy.