The town of Kiryat Shmona was established in 1949 on the site of the former Palestinian village al-Khalisa, whose inhabitants had fled after Safed was taken by the Haganah during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and an attempt by the village to come to an agreement with the Jewish authorities was rejected. Literally "The town of the Eight", Kiryat Shmona was named after eight Jewish militiamen, commanded by Joseph Trumpeldor, who had fallen in the 1920 Battle of Tel Hai during the Franco-Syrian War adjacent to the new town. It had originally been named "Kiryat Yosef" for Trumpeldor before the name was changed to Kiryat Shmona in June 1950.