page_title: Battles of Negba
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Battles of Negba / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Natan Rapoport, Monument at Kibuz Negba, Israel. photo by Michael Yakobson (benben24walla.co.il)
context_page_description: The Battles of Negba were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Negba, a kibbutz founded in 1939, had a strategic position overlooking the Majdal – Bayt Jibrin road, and was a target of two major assaults by the Egyptians in June and July 1948.
  On June 2, the Egyptians attacked the village from the south with a battalion reinforced with armor, artillery, and aircraft, and were beaten back by 140 defenders, who were assisted by motorized Negev Brigade forces. The second attack took place on July 12, when the Egyptians staged diversionary assaults on nearby positions and surrounded Negba from all sides, again with a reinforced battalion. This attack was also dispersed, and Negba remained in Israeli hands, serving as a forward base for attacks against Egyptian forces up to Operation Yoav.
context_section_description: After July 12, the Egyptians did not attack Negba again, but made an attempt to surround it by sending a Sudanese company to capture Hill 105 to the north. Israel subsequently used Negba as a base for future operations in an attempt to cut through the Egyptian lines and link up with the Israeli-held enclave in the northern Negev. Some of the areas immediately surrounding Negba were captured in the days following the second battle during Operation An-Far. After battles on the night of July 12–13, Givati reported that it was in control of Hill 105 on 00:30 on July 14. Operation Death to the Invader on July 16–19 failed to take Bayt 'Affa, Iraq Suwaydan and Hill 113 however. These areas were captured on October 16–17 (Hill 113) and November 9–11 (Bayt 'Affa, Iraq Suwaydan) during Operation Yoav.
  Both of Negba's successful stands had a significant symbolic value in Israel, especially among the working–settlement class. The commander of the Egyptian forces in Palestine, Ahmed Ali al-Mwawi, dismissed Muhammad Naguib (commander of the 4th Brigade) over the defeat. Naguib would later lead the military coup against the Egyptian government. This battle is considered to be the turning point on the southern front during the period between the first and second truces of the war. The culture office of the Givati Brigade, Abba Kovner, compared the defense to the Battle of Stalingrad, referring to it as Negbagrad.
  A monument to commemorate the Israeli fallen, by sculptor Nathan Rapoport, was erected at the military cemetery in the village, at the request of Yisrael Barzilai. The sculpture depicts a male farmer and a female nurse who is a girl (the parents), and their son, a soldier. The monument is made of bronze and is 4 m tall. It symbolizes a will for defense, the work toward a better future, and the IDF's supply shortage, shown by the fact that the soldier isn't wearing a helmet. After the 1979 Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, the Egyptians requested to place a memorial for its own fallen in Negba as well. Due to local opposition, the monument was placed in nearby Sde Yoav.
caption: The monument at Negba
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