Battle of Nitzanim The Battle of Nitzanim was a battle fought between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the 1948 Arab – Israeli War , on June 7 , 1948 ( 29 Iyar , 5708 in the Hebrew calendar ) . It was the first major Egyptian victory of the war , and one of the few cases of Israeli surrender . The battle began on the night of June 6 – 7 with an artillery bombardment of Nitzanim , followed by an aerial bombardment and armored and infantry attacks . The main attack broke through the Israeli defenses at around 11 : 00 ; the Israelis retreated to a second position , and finally to a third position at 14 : 00 . At 16 : 00 , 105 Israelis surrendered to the Egyptian Army . Between June 7 and 10 , the Battle of Hill 69 was fought nearby . The hill was captured by the Egyptians after a disorganized Israeli retreat . Israelis viewed the surrender of Nitzanim as a humiliation , especially after the Givati Brigade published a leaflet denouncing the defenders . The residents of Nitzanim demanded a probe into the battle , and one was conducted by the General Staff , siding with the residents and coming to the conclusion that surrender was justified . Background . Kibbutz Nitzanim , founded in 1943 , was an isolated Israeli village on the coastal plain , enclosed by the Arab localities of Isdud in the north , Majdal in the south , and Julis and Beit Daras in the east . It was meant to be part of the Arab state in the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine . As such , Nitzanim was isolated after December 31 , 1947 . It was attacked many times in the first six months of the 1947 – 1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine by local irregulars . The Jewish defenders used old Italian World War I rifles and managed to repel the attacks . In March 1948 , Haganah forces from the headquarters in Be ' er Tuvia broke through to the village , but on the way back were ambushed and the Haganah commander of Nitzanim , Shlomo Rubinstein , was killed in action . On March 26 and April 20 , organized Arab attacks took place , and were repelled by the villagers . The Niztanim collective was located 700 meters west of the coastal road . It expanse , 800m long and 400m wide , did not allow for the formation of a second line of defense . The farmstead buildings were mostly built in a ravine surrounded by hills from all sides . To the north lied the " graveyard ridge " , a convenient location for observations . Near it lay a wadi crater stretching west and allowing a convenient advance toward the farmstead from the north . To the east , the farmstead bordered a destroyed British camp , which allowed for an enemy advance right up to the farmstead fence . About two kilometers to the northeast was Hill 69 , a position commanding the entire surrounding area . At noon on May 29 , an observation post near Nitzanim reported that an Egyptian column of about 150 vehicles had passed along the coastal road to the north . The post later reported that 500 vehicles , an entire brigade , had been counted . The observers were not trained in identifying military vehicles , and excitedly miscounted the vehicles passing . They exaggerated the numbers when they reported to the Givati Brigade . The Egyptian Army set up a position in Isdud between May 29 and June 1 , for what Israelis presumed at the time to be thrust to capture Tel Aviv . However , the Egyptian advance stopped at the Ad Halom Bridge ( over the Lakhish River to the north of Isdud ) , which had been destroyed by the Givati Brigade on May 12 . As they made logistical preparations to cross the river , the column was bombed and engaged in Operation Pleshet ( June 2 – 3 ) . The Egyptians therefore shifted their focus to clearing their flanks , focusing on Nitzanim as some of the injured Israelis who participated in Pleshet were evacuated there . While the nearby village of Beit Daras had been under Israeli control since May 11 , there was no continuity with Nitzanim , as Hill 69 , which separated the two villages , was not occupied . The Givati Brigade planned to capture the hill on the night of June 7 – 8 , but did not anticipate the Egyptian attack on Nitzanim . The plan to capture the hill , however , was carried out on time . Prelude . Israel . Until May 15 , evacuation of noncombatants , including children , was generally opposed by the Yishuv leadership . It was argued that Israel ' s aim in the war was the continuation of normal life and that under the circumstances , it was impossible to draw a line between front and rear . It was also feared that combatants would follow the noncombatants and abandon the settlements . This position changed on May 15 . Operation Tinok ( " Baby " ) saw the evacuation of children from Nitzanim , Negba , Gat , Gal - On and Kfar Menahem by armored cars or by foot to places further north , where they were considered to be relatively safer . On the night of May 16 – 17 , 35 children from Nitzanim were evacuated on foot to Be ' er Tuvia . The Israeli defenders of Nitzanim consisted of two platoons from the Givati Brigade ' s 53rd Battalion , one of which was made up of new recruits , for a total of 74 soldiers . The recruits had been brought in from the reserve 58th Battalion during Operation Pleshet , in order to free up a more experience platoon from Nitzanim for the operation . There were also 67 local paramilitaries , ten of them women , for a total of 141 combatants . The force had seventy rifles , thirty submachine guns , four Bren light machine gun s , a 4 - inch mortar , one PIAT and a few grenades . Nitzanim had three elevations : the highest was in the northeast , where water towers were built ; in the center was the dining hall ; and to the south was the " Palace " / " Mansion " , an abandoned Arab house which was higher than its surroundings . The three elevations were surrounded by a ring of positions connected by a series of communication ditches . The local commander divided his force into fourteen positions , maintaining a reserve force for reinforcement of weak points and counterattacks in case the Egyptians broke through the position line . Egypt . Having taken Yad Mordechai on May 23 , the Egyptian force , under the command of Major General Ahmad Ali al - Mwawi went up along the coast and bypassed Nitzanim . After meeting with Israeli opposition near Ashdod , he decided to stop and consolidated his positions . Naguib was to dig in in Ashdod , another force was to attack Negba , while Mwawi himself would attack Nitzanim to eliminate its threat to his rear . The Egyptian Army set up its main position in the abandoned British military base just east of Nitzanim , with smaller positions in the Cemetery Hill to the northeast and the citrus grove in the south , thus surrounding the village . Mwawi took several days to carefully work out the attack . It was to be carried out in three phases : breakthrough and capture of the water tank hill , capture of the dining hall hill and capture of the " Palace " . The Egyptian force consisted of the 9th Battalion , the 3rd Company of the 7th Battalion and a medium machine gun platoon . They were also joined by a tank platoon , an AFV company , 18 pieces of field artillery , 12 anti - tank guns , an anti - aircraft battery , and supported by combat aircraft . Battle . Nitzanim . At midnight on July 6 – 7 , Egyptian forces began a bombardment of Nitzanim from the Cemetery Hill using Bofors cannons and 25 - pounder s , and at 06 : 00 , a close - range bombardment using anti - tank guns . All of the prominent features in the village were destroyed . An additional mortar bombardment took place from a southeastern position , and a 6 - pounder shelling from the water tank hill in the south . Shortly after , an attack was attempted from the east , but it was repelled and the water tank hill remained under Israeli control . At 08 : 00 , the Egyptians began an aerial bombardment of the kibbutz , which came in three waves and continued until 10 : 15 , at which time shelling continued in the form of 25 - pounder fire from Majdal about 7 km away . At 11 : 00 , the main thrust of infantry and four tanks commenced . The rest of the armored vehicles provided cover from the adjacent abandoned British base . The Israelis used the lone PIAT in their possession against the tanks and forced them to retreat , although the PIAT broke down and the Egyptian 1st Company ( 9th Battalion ) managed to infiltrate the water tank hill . Position 1 was destroyed and buried its inhabitants , who were in a state of shock when evacuated from the rubble . The telephone system was cut down . A machine gun , aimed at the planes , was hit by a shell . Most of the Israelis ' firearms got dirty from the dust , and one machine gun broke down . Since the beginning of the attack , the signal operator tried to contact the 53rd Battalion headquarters at Beer Tuvia . At 10 : 00 , she managed to get an SOS through before losing contact completely . Near 11 : 00 , four Egyptian tanks were ordered to break through into the farmstead , followed by infantry . The tanks advanced from the northeastern corner of the camp , and were met by two Israelis armed with PIATs . They managed to hit the track of one of the tanks on the second shot . The tanks halted , but the PIAT soon broke down and its operator suffered a head wound . The tanks retreated and continued to shell the Israeli position . The Egyptian infantry kept advancing , taking over positions 10 , 11 , 12 , and capturing the water tanks area . The Egyptians reported victory . Twelve Israelis were killed by the tank shells . The Egyptians then started the second phase of their plan — taking over the northwestern position and the dining hall area . The 4th Company of the 9th Battalion used a tank which broke through the farmstead fence at 12 : 30 opposite position 8 , in the center of Nitzanim ' s northern fence , after killing six out of the seven Israelis manning the position and blinding the seventh . Schwarzstein , until then posted in the northeastern corner of the smaller orchard , moved to the dining hall and the nearby residence area , which were surrounded by embankments . He was hoping to form a second line and ordered the men from positions 5 , 6 , and 7 in the north to move to the dining hall area . There , he organized the reserve forces who retreated from the cowshed and the men from the northern positions for defense . The Egyptians commenced heavy shelling of the dining hall , and by 14 : 00 , the defenders decided to retreat to the " Palace " in the south for a last stand . At 15 : 00 , a retreat of all forces southwards from the village was attempted , but was stalled by the 2nd Company of the 9th Battalion situated in the citrus groves , that forced the Israelis back to the " Palace " . 2 – 4 Israelis managed to hide in the groves and escape to Be ' er Tuvia at night . Throughout the battle , the Israeli forces tried to communicate with the rest of the army and request reinforcements , including three telegrams near the end of the battle , sent by the signal operator Miriam Ben - Ari . All attempts failed and reinforcements were not sent . The wounded commander , Avraham - Elkana Schwarzstein , carrying his bloodstained white shirt , and Ben - Ari , tried to negotiate with the Egyptians , but Schwarzstein was shot by an Egyptian officer . In response , Ben - Ari shot the one responsible and was killed on the spot . At 16 : 00 on June 7 , 105 exhausted Israeli defenders , 26 of them injured , destroyed their remaining ammunition and equipment , and surrendered to the Egyptian forces . The Egyptians prevented their local auxiliaries from massacring all the prisoners , however , three or four of the defenders were killed after surrendering . Survivors were later " displayed " in a victory parade in Majdal , after which they were transferred to Cairo . In all , 33 were killed in the battle — 17 soldiers and 16 villagers ( of them 3 women ) . Hill 69 . Three men managed to escape from Nitzanim during the day . They hid until nightfall and then infiltrated through the Egyptian lines until they reached the Givati outposts . They were not aware that Nitzanim had surrendered and the only information about it was received from Egyptian broadcasts , so the Givati commander Shimon Avidan found that out only that evening . Despite the fall of Nitzanim , he decided to attack on the night of June 7 – 8 , as planned . One company took Hill 69 and positions to threaten the Egyptian lines at Isdud and prepared to recapture Nitzanim . Meanwhile , another , unsuccessful , attack was carried out against Isdud . Hill 69 was considered tactically important as an obstacle on the road to Isdud in face of the imminent truce . On the night of June 9 – 10 , Givati ' s 52nd Battalion , guided by two of the escapees , attacked Nitzanim . Zero hour was postponed after the attacking force lost its way . At dawn , the leading platoon managed to break into Nitzanim from the south and capture the " Palace " , but was ordered to withdraw after being hit by heavy Egyptian fire , having lost the cover of darkness . The Egyptian artillery pursued the withdrawing Israeli force until it reached Hill 69 . The 52nd Battalion forces were evacuated by armored vehicles , and soon after , the Egyptians attacked the hill , which was held by a company from the 51st Battalion . The ditches collapsed completely and the positions were destroyed . The large force that was concentrated on the hill suffered heavy casualties . The Egyptian infantry attacked from the west , supported from close range by Bren Carrier s and armored cars . The Israeli company broke , and was ordered to retreat , but the withdrawal was disorganized and cost more casualties . The last Israeli to remain on the hill was an artillery observer , who ordered his guns to bring down fire on his own position , before being killed . The total Israeli death toll on the hill and the retreat from it was 20 . The Egyptians tried to continue towards Beit Daras and Be ' er Tuvia , but met with heavy opposition . At nightfall , they withdrew . Aftermath . The Battle of Nitzanim was one of the few Israeli surrenders during the war and was seen by many as humiliating . The 105 prisoners captured at Nitzanim constituted the majority of POW s captured by Egypt during the entire war . According to the POWs , the Egyptian media covered the event widely , writing that 300 Jews were killed in Nitzanim , that it was a major submarine base , and that much booty was captured , including oil and fuel . Yitzhak Pundak , the battalion commander who was directly responsible for the village ' s defense , claims that actions could have been taken to save it , including transferring " Napoleonchik " cannons to the site . Following the capture of Hill 69 , a major obstacle was removed for Egypt , which enabled it to attack Gal On and capture Gezer . When Givati finally reached Nitzanim after Operation Yoav , they found the village abandoned and largely destroyed , as the Egyptians retreated south to Gaza . The Israelis killed in action were buried in a mass grave in the village . The villagers who returned from captivity on March 7 , 1949 , as part of the 1949 Armistice Agreements , rebuilt Nitzanim on a site a few kilometers south of the original . The Nitzanim Youth Village was built in 1949 on the site of the battle , and closed in 1990 , where Nitzan was founded later . The site was turned into a tourist attraction , featuring a visual presentation and various monuments , including the Women of Valor Center ( , " Yad LeIsha Lohemet " ) , a monument for all female warriors killed in action in Israel ' s wars , especially the three in Nitzanim : Miriam Ben - Ari , the intern paramedic Shulamit Dorczin , and the 18 - year - old Deborah Epstein who died of her wounds in captivity . Reactions in Israel . Abba Kovner , then the culture officer of the Givati Brigade , published a scathing leaflet denouncing the defenders . Nisan Reznik , who was one of the fighters in Nitzanim , and knew Kovner from before World War II , claimed that the letter was a result of egoism . Part of the leaflet read : . . . The fighters on the southern front , soldiers of the brigade , defenders of the settlements ! The hour of Nitzanim ' s surrender — is the hour of extreme grief and personal reflection — and a personal reflection says : One doesn ' t defend one ' s home conditionally . Defense means with all the forces at the command of one ' s body and soul , and if fate should so decree , it is better to fall in the trenches of the home than to surrender . . . To surrender as long as the body lives and the last bullet breathes in the clip is a disgrace . To fall into the invader ' s captivity is shame and death ! As a result , Nitzanim ' s members demanded an investigation into the battle immediately after the war ended , claiming that Kovner significantly and unrightfully harmed their reputation . The investigation was headed by the Chief of Staff Ya ' akov Dori , who sided with the defenders and wrote : The difficult circumstances of the battle by the residents of Nitzanim , the bitter isolation of the combatants , the lack of communication with the rear - front , lack of ammunition and food , and due to the high number of casualties in that defense , brings honor to all those who fought bitterly there , until the last bullet . What happened in Nitzanim happened also to other places , the defenders of which fought bravely to the last option . Prime Minister David Ben - Gurion also praised the defenders of Nitzanim . A thriller called " Target - Tel Aviv " ( ) by Ram Oren was published in 2004 , focusing on the battle and its aftermath . In the historiography of the 1948 Arab – Israeli War . In the historical debate about the 1948 Arab - Israeli War , Benny Morris takes the example of Nitzarim at two times to draw a comparison between Israeli and Arab attitudes during the war . He points out that :