page_title: Battles of the Kinarot Valley
section_title: Battles
hierarchical_section_title: Battles of the Kinarot Valley / Battles
caption_attribution_description: The first battle of Tzemah and Sha'ar HaGolan/Masada, as part of the Battles of the Kinarot Valley. Legend: Full circle: inhabited village Empty circle: abandoned village Full cluster: city Square: manned outpost Triangle: unmanned outpost or uninhabited notable site Blue color: Jewish Green color: Israeli Arab Red color: Syrian Grey line: Main road Dotted grey line: Secondary/unpaved road Artillery symbol: Artillery position Boat symbol: Gunboat 3 flame symbols: Position shelled by artillery or gunboat 3 bomb symbols: Position bombed from the air Arrow: Troop movement Solid line with protruding dashes: Frontal entrenchment/position Two swords: Battle (blue indicates Israeli victory, red indicates Syrian victory)
context_page_description: The Battles of the Kinarot Valley, is a collective name for a series of military engagements between the Haganah and the Syrian army during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, fought between May 15–22, 1948 in the Kinarot Valley. It includes two main sites: the Battle of Degania–Samakh, and battles near Masada–Sha'ar HaGolan. The engagements were part of the battles of the Jordan Valley, which also saw fighting against Transjordan in the area of Gesher.
  The battles took place approximately 24 hours after the Israeli declaration of independence, when Syria shelled Ein Gev on the night of May 15–16. This was the first military engagement between Israel and Syria. On May 18, Syria attacked the Israeli forward position in Samakh, and on May 20 attacked Degania Alef and occupied Masada and Sha'ar HaGolan. The attack on Degania Alef was a failure, after which the Syrian forces attempted to capture Degania Bet. After reaching a stalemate, they retreated to their initial position in Tel al-Qasr, where they remained until the end of the war.
  The campaign was perceived as a decisive Israeli victory, causing reorganizations in the Syrian high command and the birth of heroic tales in Israel.
context_section_description: On Saturday night, May 15, the observation posts reported many vehicles with full lights moving along the Golan ridge east of the Sea of Galilee. The opening shots were fired by Syrian artillery on kibbutz Ein Gev at approximately 01:00 on May 16. At dawn, Syrian aircraft attacked the Kinarot valley villages. The following day, a Syrian company which split from the main force attacked the water station with heavy weaponry, where every worker was killed except one.
  An Israeli reserve unit was called in from Tiberias. It arrived after twenty minutes and took positions around the town. At that point, Samakh (Tzemah) was defended by three platoons from the Barak battalion and reinforcements from neighboring villages. They entrenched in the actual village, which had been abandoned by the residents in April 1948, with British escort. Positions in the village included the police station in the west, the cemetery in the north, the Manshiya neighborhood in the south, and the railway station. The Syrians set up their positions in an abandoned British military base just east of the village and in an animal quarantine station to the southeast.
  Two Israeli sappers were sent to mine the area of the quarantine station, but did not know that it was already under Syrian control. Their vehicle was blown up, but they managed to escape alive. On the same day, the Syrian company that attacked the water station from Tel ad-Dweir proceeded towards Sha'ar HaGolan and Masada. Its advance was halted by the village residents as well as a platoon of reinforcements armed with 20 mm cannons. The company retreated to its position and commenced artillery fire on the two kibbutzim.
  This development gave the Israeli forces time to organize their defenses at Samakh (Tzemah). During the course of May 16, Israeli gunboats harassed the Syrian positions on the southeastern Sea of Galilee shore, trenches were dug, and roadblocks were set up. Meanwhile, Syrian aircraft made bombing runs on Masada, Sha'ar HaGolan, Degania Bet and Afikim. The attack on Samakh (Tzemah) resumed before dawn on May 17—the Syrians attacked the village's northern positions, but their armor stayed behind. The infantry thus could not advance into the concentrated Israeli fire from the village itself, despite severe ammunition shortages on the Israeli side.
  Meanwhile, the defenders of Tiberias believed their town would be targeted next, and built barricades and fortifications. Ben-Gurion told the cabinet that "The situation is very grave. There aren't enough rifles. There are no heavy weapons". Aharon Israeli, a platoon leader, commented that there was also a severe lack of experienced field commanders—he himself was hastily promoted on May 15, despite not having sufficient knowledge or experience. Also on May 16, the Syrian President, Shukri al-Quwatli, visited the front with his Prime Minister, Jamil Mardam, and his Defense Minister, Taha al-Hashimi. He told his forces "to destroy the Zionists".
  At night, a Syrian force attempted to surround the Israelis by crossing the Jordan River to the north of the Sea of Galilee, but encountered a minefield in which a senior Syrian officer was wounded. This was spotted and reported by the Israelis at Tabgha, and the additional reprieve allowed the Kinarot Valley villages to evacuate the children, elderly and sick, as well as conduct maneuvers which feigned massive reinforcements in the Poria-Alumot region. In the panic of surprise, many men also tried to flee the frontal villages, but blockposts were set up near Afula and Yavne'el by the Military Police Service's northern command, under Yosef Pressman, who personally stopped buses and allowed only the women and children to proceed to safety.
caption: Breakdown of the movements and battles up to May 16
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