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What were the stages of the 1948 war?

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The 1948 war unfolded in two main stages. The first stage, from November 30, 1947, to May 14, 1948, was a localized civil conflict between Jewish and Palestinian Arab forces under British mandate rule. The second stage began on May 15, 1948, following Israel's declaration of independence, when armies from neighboring Arab states intervened, turning it into a regional conventional war that ended with the 1949 armistice agreements.

The topic explained

The two distinct phases of the 1948 conflict

In Israeli high school history, the stages of the 1948 war are divided into two distinct chronological phases marked by the departure of the British Mandate administration. The conflict began on November 30, 1947, the day after the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 181, which recommended partitioning Mandatory Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states alongside an international zone for Jerusalem.

Jewish leaders accepted the partition plan, while Arab leaders in Palestine and the Arab League rejected it, arguing that it violated the rights of the indigenous majority. Clashes erupted immediately, setting off the first phase of the war.

Stage one: the civil war under British rule (November 1947 to May 1948)

The first stage was an irregular civil war fought while British troops were still withdrawing. From December 1947 to March 1948, local Palestinian militias, bolstered by volunteer fighters from the Arab Liberation Army, attacked Jewish transportation routes, besieging Jewish communities in Jerusalem and the Negev. During this period, the Haganah adopted a predominantly defensive posture.

In April 1948, the Haganah shifted strategy by launching Plan Dalet (Plan D). This offensive aimed to secure the borders allocated to the Jewish state under the UN plan and open access corridors to besieged enclaves before the expected entry of regular Arab armies. Jewish forces took control of mixed cities such as Haifa, Jaffa, and Tiberias, and reopened the road to western Jerusalem. This military campaign precipitated the flight and expulsion of roughly 250,000 to 300,000 Palestinian Arabs from these areas.

Stage two: regular armies and armistice lines (May 1948 to July 1949)

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion read Israel's Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. The next day, May 15, British rule formally ended, and expeditionary forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, and Iraq, alongside Lebanese units, entered the country. The conflict transformed into an interstate conventional war involving heavy artillery, armor, and air power.

After holding off initial Arab advances in May and early June, the newly established Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted major offensives during the 'Ten Days' of fighting in July, followed by Operations Yoav, Hiram, and Horev in the autumn and winter. The war ended through bilateral armistice agreements signed on the island of Rhodes between February and July 1949 with Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The resulting armistice borders, known as the Green Line, left Israel in control of 78 percent of Mandatory Palestine, while Transjordan annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Egypt administered the Gaza Strip.

Free printable worksheet

The 1948 War: Stages, Strategy, and Turning Points

This worksheet is for 12th grade history students preparing for the bagrut. Complete each item using specific dates, turning points, and historical terms.

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The 1948 War: Stages, Strategy, and Turning PointsName:

  1. Identify the exact event and date that marked the transition between the first and second stages of the 1948 war.

  2. What was the primary tactical objective of Plan Dalet, launched by the Haganah in April 1948?

  3. Contrast the nature of the forces fighting on the Arab side during the first stage with those fighting during the second stage.

  4. Explain one military reason why the initial Arab offensive slowed down by the First Truce in June 1948.

  5. Name the four Arab countries that signed bilateral armistice agreements with Israel in 1949, and name one participant in the war that refused to sign.

  6. Document analysis: Read this excerpt from the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel: 'We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness...' How did the context of May 14, 1948, shape this statement, and why did neighboring Arab leaders reject it?

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Common questions

Why did the UN General Assembly propose partition in 1947?

The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) concluded that British mandate rule was untenable and that Jewish and Arab nationalist claims to the same land were mutually exclusive, recommending two independent states linked by an economic union.

What was the Convoy War in early 1948?

Between December 1947 and March 1948, Palestinian forces blocked narrow mountain passes, attacking armored supply convoys sent by the Haganah to feed and arm isolated Jewish populations in Jerusalem, the Negev, and Western Galilee.

What is the difference between an armistice line and a recognized border?

An armistice line is a ceasefire boundary agreed upon by military commanders to stop fighting, explicitly defined in the 1949 agreements as non-prejudicial to future political claims, unlike a permanent, recognized international border agreed in a formal peace treaty.

How did the war affect civilian populations on both sides?

Around 700,000 Palestinian Arabs became refugees, either fleeing hostilities or being expelled, in what Palestinians call the Nakba. Inside the territory held by Arab forces, Jewish communities in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, and Atarot were captured, and their surviving residents were either taken prisoner or evacuated. In the subsequent years, hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries relocated to Israel.

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