List of killings and massacres in Mandatory Palestine

This is a list of killings and massacres committed in Mandatory Palestine. It is limited to incidents in which at least three people were intentionally killed. This list does not include illegal deaths due to criminal activity. It includes all deaths that resulted from the initial attack on civilians or non-combat military personnel.

Individual massacres during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine are listed here.

 List of killings and massacres committed in Mandate Palestine 
NameDateFatalitiesnotesBattle of Tel HaiMarch 1, 1920138 Jews, 5 Arabs killed Armed Arabs were looking for French soldiers, and Jews mounted armed resistance.1920 Nebi Musa riotsApril 4–7, 192095 Jews, 4 Arabs killed; 216 Jews, 18 Arabs, 7 Britons wounded Started by inflammatory language at an Arab rally. Origin of violence uncertain, but a witness reported stone throwing by Arabs.Jaffa riotsMay 1–7, 19219548 Arabs, 47 Jews killed; 140 Jews, 73 Arabs wounded. Began as a fight between two Jewish groups.  Arabs joined in because they thought they were being attacked.1929 Palestine riotsAugust 23–29, 1929249133 Jews, 116 Arabs killed; 339 Jews, 232 Arabs wounded;Shaw Report includes the Hebron massacre (67 Jews killed; 58 Jews wounded and a massacre in Safed (18–20 Jews killed; 80 Jews wounded)  Mostly violence by Arabs against Jews; most Arabs killed by Mandate police.  Thought triggered by a recent Jewish demonstration.Black Hand killings at Kibbutz YagurApril 11, 193133 Jews at Kibbutz YagurLachman, Shai (1982). "Arab Rebellion and Terrorism in Palestine 1929–1939". In Kedourie, Elie; Haim, Sylvie G. (eds.). Zionism and Arabism in Palestine and Israel. Frank Cass. ISBN 978-0-714-63169-1.1931-1932 Black Hand attacks1931-193266 Jews1933 Palestine riotsOctober 27, 1933161 Arab policeman, 15 Arab demonstrators shot by British security forces, 1 Arab child hit by a stray bullet.1933 Haifa riotOctober 27–28, 193344 Palestinian rioters killed, 1 policeman stabbed, 3 Palestinian rioters wounded, 5 Jewish civilians injured by rioters, 4 of them seriously.Jaffa riots (April 1936)April 19–20, 1936219 Jews killed, 40 Jews wounded (11 critically) in Arab attack in Jaffa. Police killed two attackers. Further 7 Jews and 3 Arabs killed the next dayArab general strikeApril 20 – October 12, 1936314197 Arabs killed and 823 wounded, 80 Jews killed and 300 wounded, 37 military and police killed and 95 wounded.NAAugust 13, 193744 members of a Jewish family, 3 children, shot dead by Arabs who broke into their home in SafedNANovember 9, 193755 Jewish Keren Kayemet workers killed near Har Haruach by an Arab ambush. Ma'ale HaHamisha was named in their honor.N/AMarch 28, 1938 44 Jews killed (of them 2 women and one 8 year-old child), 3 dissapeared; 2 Arab attackers killed (by police)( in attack on Jewish taxi cabN/AMarch 28, 193866 Jewish passengers killed by Arabs while traveling from Haifa to Safed.N/AAugust 16, 19383A Jewish family was kidnapped by Arabs in Atlit. 3 killed.N/AAugust 1998 Jewish policemen and 1 Jewish girl killed in an Arab ambush on bus.N/AAugust 13-1633 Jewish cyclists killed in Arab attack. Their seven year old daughter was badly injuredN/AJuly 5, 193855 Jews killed at Rosh Pina1938 Tiberias massacreOctober 2, 19381919 Jews were killed, 11 of whom children.N/AFebruary 27, 19393333 Arabs were killed in multiple attacks, incl. 24 by bomb in Arab market in Suk Quarter of Haifa and 4 by bomb in Arab vegetable market in Jerusalem.Y. Ben-Ami, Years of Wrath, Days of Glory; Memoirs of the Irgun, Speller and Sons, New York 1982; p 229. Casualty figures from Palestine Post Feb 28, 1939.N/AJune 2, 193955 Arabs were killed by a bomb at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem.Y. 'Amrami, A. Melitz, דברי הימים למלחמת השחרור ("History of the War of Independence", Shelach Press, 1951).N/AJune 19, 19392020 Arabs were killed by explosives mounted on a donkey at a marketplace in Haifa.Palestine Post, June 20–22, 1939Italian bombing of Tel AvivSeptember 9, 1940137130 Jews and 7 Arabs killed in a bombing run.N/ANovember 1, 194545 locomotives destroyed in Lydda station. Two staff, one soldier and one policeman killed. One of the bombers, Yehiel Dresner, was later executed for other crimes.Horne, Edward (1982). A Job Well Done (Being a History of The Palestine Police Force 1920 - 1948). The Anchor Press. . Page 289.N/AJuly 1, 19464Four Jews were killed and 80 were injured during searches of arms depots. 27 villages were searched, a large arms depot was found underground in Meshek YagurKing David Hotel bombingJuly 22, 19469191 killed, including 41 Arabs, 28 Britons, and 17 Jews; 40-45 woundedN/AJune 17, 19461717 Jews killed in 2 attacks at nightN/AAugust 3, 19465Two Jews, three Arab attackers killed and nine Jews were wounded in a shooting fray, when a group of armed Arabs tried to prevent Jews from erecting a new settlement near Kfar Blum N/AAugust 13, 19463Three Jews were killed and seven woundedN/ANovember 3, 19464Two Jews and two Arabs are killed in clashes between Arabs and a group of JewsN/ANovember 3, 194652 Jews murdered, 3 Arab attackers killed during an attack during construction of Neot Mordechai.N/ANovember 9, 194638 Jews, 3 British officers killed, 2 injured by landmine in David street in JerusalemN/ADecember 2–5, 194610Ten persons, including six British soldiers, were killed in bomb and landmine explosionsN/AJuly 31, 19475Two Jewish men, two Jewish women and a Jewish boy killed by British gunfireN/AJuly 31, 19475Four men, one undocumented woman killed by fire from men in both military and civilian clothes. The men smashed windows and broke property as they marched through Ben Yehuda streetN/AJuly 31, 194755 jews killed, several others injuredN/AAugust 11, 19475Five Jews killed by a band of Arabs in a cafeFajja bus attacksNovember 30, 194777 Jews killed in two incidents by gunfireN/ADecember 2, 1947148 Jews killed, 32 injured; 6 Arab attackers killed. Nine Jewish blocks were burned.N/ADecember 3, 1947127 Jews, 5 Arab attackers killedN/ADecember 6, 194788 Jews killed by Arabs in SalamehN/ADecember 6, 194733 Jews sniped (killed) by Arabs in RehovotN/ADecember 7, 194755 Jews killed by Arabs in SalemehN/ADecember 7, 194754 Jews killed, five injured. One Arab killedN/ADecember 7, 194765 Jews, one Arab killed in attack on Jewish convoy. One of the Jewish casualties was a girl who was killed by a sniperN/ADecember 8, 19471914 Jews, 3 Arabs, 2 British soldiers killedN/ADecember 8, 194744 Jews killed or burnt alive, during an Arab attackN/ADecember 8, 194764 Jews, one Arab and one Briton killedN/ADecember 8, 194766 Jews killed in JaffaN/ADecember 9, 194766 Teenage Jews (one a girl) killed by Arab mob in gevulotN/ADecember 10, 194743 Jews, one Arab attacker killedN/ADecember 10, 194766 Jews shot and stabbed to death by an ArabN/ADecember 11, 19471010 Jews killed in an Arab attack on Jewish convoyal-TiraDecember 12, 19471313 Arabs killed, 10 woundedPalestine Post, December 14; Milstein, Vol 11, p91N/ADecember 12, 194733 Jews killed by Arabs. Of them 2 are employees of British Overseas Airways, and one is a cook. killed in LyddaN/ADecember 12, 194733 Jews killed by Arabs while inspecting a pipeN/ADecember 12, 19472020 killed, 5 wounded by barrel bomb at Damascus Gate.Uri Milstein, History of Israel's War of Independence, Vol II. p51N/ADecember 12, 194733 Jews killed, 4 missing in an Arab attackN/ADecember 13, 194733 Jews killed while defending against an Arab attackN/ADecember 13, 19471616 Arabs killed; 67 Arabs wounded from bombings in Jerusalem and Jaffa; Irgun also burns down 100 Arab homes in JaffaN/ADecember 14, 19471414 Jews killed, 10 injured from Arab Legion fire while supplying the Ben Shemen Youth VillageN/ADecember 16, 19471010 killed by bomb at Noga Cinema in Jaffa.Milstein, Vol II, p81.al-Khisas massacreDecember 18, 19471010 Arabs killedN/ADecember 24, 194784 Jews killed in Haifa by snipers, 4 Arabs killed in reprisalsN/ADecember 25, 194742 Jewish guards and 2 Arabs killed, 6 Jews injuredN/ADecember 26, 194777 Jews killed while driving in convoy to Jerusalem. Amongst them was the leader of the Jewish humanitarian organization Youth AliyahN/ADecember 28, 1947105 Jews killed in Bab el Wad by snipers, 5 Arabs killed in reprisalsN/ADecember 29, 1947174 Jews killed in Tel Aviv from mortar and sniper fire, 13 Arabs killed in Jerusalem in Irgun bombingMilstein, Vol II, p214.Bomb thrown on Damascus Gate Café in JerusalemDecember 29, 19471311 Arabs, 2 Britons killed Uri Milstein reported 15 casualties from the bombing in the Palestine Post.Haifa Oil Refinery massacreDecember 30, 19473939 Jews beaten to death, 49 Jews injured by Arabs after an Irgun bombing which killed 6N/ADecember 31, 194733 Jews killed during an attack by ArabsBalad al-Shaykh massacreJanuary 1, 19485017–70 Arabs killed in HaifaN/AJanuary 1, 194844 Jews killed in Arab attackN/AJanuary 3, 194843 Jews and 1 Englishman killedBombing of Arab National Committee HQJanuary 4, 19481414 Arabs killed; 100 Arabs woundedSemiramis Hotel bombingJanuary 5, 19482020 Arabs killed in JerusalemN/AJanuary 5, 19481414 Arabs killed and 19 injured by truck bomb outside the 3-storey 'Serrani', Jaffa's built Ottoman Town HallThe Scotsman newspaper, Jan 6, 1948N/AJanuary 5, 194844 Arabs killed after attacking Jewish quarter in SafedJaffa Gate bombing in JerusalemJanuary 7, 19481815–20 Arabs killedN/AJanuary 8, 194866 Jews sniped by ArabsN/AJanuary 10, 19481111 Jews killed, 1 beheaded near Yavne in planned Arab attack on 23 unarmed Jewish agricultural workersN/AJanuary 14, 194877 Jews, 2 Britons killed in Haifa by Arab bombMJanuary 14, 194833 Jews are killed while repelling an attack by 600 Arabs with the support of hundreds of young Arab villagers.Convoy of 35January 15, 19483535 Jewish militants going to resupply blockaded kibbutzim at Gush Etzion attacked near Hebron by Arab militants.<< It is known that the Jewish militants fought back, but there is little of Arab casualties.N/AJanuary 18, 19485050 Jews killed, 6 taken as prisoners; 7 Arab attackers killedN/AJanuary 18, 194833 Jews killed, 8 injured in an Arab ambush on a convoy from Maale Hahamisha on the Jerusalem-Haifa roadN/AJanuary 20, 194888-12 Jews killed, 20 injured, of them 9 seriously injured and 2 lightly injured in YehiamN/AJanuary 20, 194868 Jews, including 4 policemen killed by Arab gangN/AJanuary 22, 194877 Jews killed near YazurN/AJanuary 25, 194810-1510-15 Jews killed in an attack by Arab "volunteers"N/AJanuary 27, 194844 Arabs killed after opening fire on a British army patrol in GazaBombing of The Palestine Post Headquarters2–5 February 19484 killed, 16 injured3 Jewish employees and a neighbor killed, 16 injured in car bomb attackN/AFebruary 3, 194833 Arabs killed near Migdal Zedek after shooting British policeN/AFebruary 3, 194866 Jews killed while riding buses in HaifaN/AFebruary 7, 194863 Arabs, 3 Jews killed in HaifaN/AFebruary 7, 194866 Jews killed by shooting in Tel Aviv, one of them was a 2 year old child, shot in the head while sleeping in his bedN/AFebruary 8, 194833 Jews sniped by ArabsN/AFebruary 8, 194833 Arabs killed by British soldierN/AFebruary 10, 194877 Arabs killed near Ras el Ain after selling cows in Tel AvivPalestine Post, Feb 13, 1948N/AFebruary 12, 194844 Jews killed in JerusalemN/AFebruary 15, 194885 Arabs, 3 Jews killedSa'sa' village ambush in the Safad districtFebruary 14, 194811-60Reports vary from 11 Arabs killed, to 60 Arabs killed. Reported to be revenge for Convoy of 35.N/AFebruary 16, 194833 Jews killed by Arab Legion fire on passing busN/AFebruary 16, 194833 Jews (two men, one woman) dragged out of a taxi set on fire following Arab fire toward it, taken to camp and beaten to deathN/AFebruary 17, 194885 Arabs, 3 Jews killedN/AFebruary 17, 194833 Jews killed by Arab LegionN/AFebruary 17, 19485757 Arab attackers killed while taking part in attack on Jewish settlements Tirat Tzvi, Sde Eliahu, Ein HaNatzivRamla vegetable market bombingFebruary 18, 19481212 killed, 43 woundedN/AFebruary 18, 194844 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish settlement MitzpeN/AFebruary 19, 194844 Jews killed while riding a bus in Haifa (line num 6)N/AFebruary 19, 194844 Jews killed while riding a bus in Haifa (line num 14)N/AFebruary 19, 194833 Jews killed by Arab gangN/AFebruary 19, 194833 Jews killed, 9 wounded in attack on convoyN/AFebruary 21, 194844 Arabs killed in HaifaN/AFebruary 21, 194833 Jews killedBen Yehuda Street bombingFebruary 22, 194849-5849 to 58 Jewish civilians killed and 140 to 200 injuredItamar Radai, Palestinians in Jerusalem and Jaffa, 1948: A Tale of Two Cities,Routledge, 2016 pp.47-48.Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre, 'O Jerusalem,' Granada Books 1982 pp.177-183N/AFebruary 25, 194833 Jews killed on road between Ramle and Tel AvivN/AFebruary 28, 194876 Arabs, 1 Jew killed during attack on Jewish village Kfar SavaRehovot Train bombingMarch 1, 19482828 Britons killedBevingrad Officers Club bombingMarch 1, 19482020 Britons killed; 30 Britons woundedN/AMarch 1, 194844 Jews killed on Tel Aviv-Jerusalem roadN/AMarch 2, 19481310 Arabs, 3 Jews killed during Arab attack on Tel Aviv-Jerusalem roadN/AMarch 3, 194811Car bombing in Haifa killed 11 ArabsN/AMarch 4, 19481616 Jews killed on Jerusalem-Atarot roadN/AMarch 9, 194833 Arabs killed while attacking a Jewish settlement YehiamN/AMarch 11, 194854 Arabs, 1 Jew killed in TiberiasJewish Agency bombingMarch 11, 19481313 Jews killedN/AMarch 14, 194877 Jews killed near FalujaN/AMarch 14, 194854 Arabs, 1 Jew killed in TiberiasN/AMarch 18, 19481010 Jews killed in Arab attack on convoyN/AMarch 18, 194895 Britons, 4 Jews killed in convoy near AcreN/AMarch 20, 194877 Jews killed at Ein HarodN/AMarch 20, 194833 Jews killed in Arab attackN/AMarch 21, 194866 Jews killed on Rosh Pinna-Safed roadN/AMarch 22, 1948244 Jews, 20 Arabs attackers killed during attack on Jewish settlement NitzanimN/AMarch 24, 19483636 Arabs killed near TulkaremN/AMarch 24, 194833 Jews killed, 7 woundedN/AMarch 26, 194886 Arabs, 2 Jews killed in attack on Jewish convoy near GazaN/AMarch 2714-1514-15 Jews killed, 75 injured in Arab attack on "Nebi Daniel" convoyN/AMarch 274747 Jews killed in Arab attack on convoyN/AMarch 28, 194866 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish convoy near RehovotN/AMarch 30, 1948108 Jews and 2 British killed while fleeing from JaffaCairo-Haifa train bombingMarch 31, 19484040 Arabs killed; 60 Arabs woundedMassacre in an orange grove in LyddaApril 1, 19481111 Arab laborers killedN/AApril 6, 194833 Jews killedN/AApril 9, 1948148 Jews sniped (killed), 6 Arabs killed after Arab attackers broke a 3-week truce and opened fire in the Old city of TiberiasDeir Yassin massacreApril 9, 1948100-110100-110 Arabs, 4 Jewish attackers killedKana'ana, Sharif and Zeitawi, Nihad (1987), "The Village of Deir Yassin," Bir Zeit, Bir Zeit University Press, 1987)Hadassah medical convoy massacreApril 13, 19487978 Jews (nurses, doctors, and patients) and one British soldier killed. Amongst the dead was Chaim Yassky, the director of Hadassah hospital.Haifa car bombing15 April 194886 Jews, 2 Britons killed. Most of those in the two nearby crowded busses injuredN/A20 April, 194833 Jews killed, 10 injured in Arab attack on supply convoy. Arab casualties believed to be "high" the day following the attackN/A20 April, 194866 Jews killed in Arab ambush in Deir AyubN/A20 April, 19481515 Jews killed, 44 injured in Arab ambushN/A22 April, 19481515 Jews killed, 28 injured in attack on convoyN/A23 April, 194833 Jews killed by Arab fire on their vehicleN/A24 April, 194833 Jews killed by Arabs on Rishon Lezion-Bein Dajan roadN/A24 April, 194833 Jews killed by Arabs in Mea Shearim in JerusalemEin al Zeitun massacreMay 3, 19485537–70 Arab prisonersKfar Etzion massacreMay 13, 1948129127–157 Jews killedAbu Shusha massacreMay 13–14, 194860–70+60–70 Arabs killed

 Related pages 
 Palestinian political violence
 List of Palestinian suicide attacks

 References 

 Sources 



Category:Palestine
Category:Massacres