Safsaf massacre

The Safsaf massacre occurred on October 29, 1948, when Israeli brigades captured the village of Safsaf. The village was defended by the Arab Liberation Army Second Yarmuk Battalion. About 50-70 people were killed and 5 women were raped, among them a 14 year old girl.

The village was attacked during the evening of October 29 and a fierce battle lasted until 7 AM the next morning. The village defenders inflicted heavy casualties to the attackers.

Safsaf was the first village to fall in Operation Hiram.

Yosef Nachmani, a high-ranking member of Haganah and the director of the offices of the Jewish National Fund wrote:

"The acts of cruelty committed by our soldiers. After they went into Safsaf, the village and its people raised a white flag. They separated the men from the women, tied the hands of some 50 to 60 peasants and shot and killed them, burying them in a single hole. They also raped a number of the women from the village. ..In Salha, which raised a white flag, they carried out a real massacre, killing men and women, about 60 to 70 people. Where did they find such a degree of cruelty like that of the Nazis? They learned from them." [1]

See also