The War of Independence, begun in 1947, intensified in 1948, especially after Israel’s Declaration of Independence. This was Israel’s bloodiest war, resulting in 6,373 casualties on the Israeli side, which succeeded in the conquest of almost all of Palestine’s territory. Israel established its first government in 1948 and opened its doors to Jewish refugees from around the world, including Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and Europe. At the same time, many Arabs fled the fighting and left their villages, hoping to return when the war was over. These groups were not forced out, but rather fled voluntarily, often encouraged by their leaders.

1. 1948 Arab Refugees
2. 1948-1949 Arab Refugees’ Hatred of Egyptians, not Jews
3. 1948 Khaled al-Azm on Arab Refugee Situation
4. 1948 Political Arab Leaders behind Arab Refugee Situation
5. 1948 Defeat of Arabs in 1948 Came as a Surprise for the Arab World
6. January 1, 1948 Train robbed of Foodstuffs between Lydda and Tel Aviv
7. January 2, 1948 Illegal Immigration to Palestine
8. January 5, 1948 Bomb Thrown at Jewish School, Beirut
9. January 10, 1948 Arab Refugees
10. January 10, 1948 Arabs Set for “Any Price” United Press, NY Times
11. January 11, 1948 Jews in Cairo Arrested to Prevent of “Zionist crimes”
12. January 14, 1948 Fawzi Bey al Kaukji, Volunteer Army of the Arab Nations
13. January 14, 1948 Mediation Offer made from Pakistan
14. January 14, 1948 Massacre Report Perturbs Gandhi
15. January 16, 1948 Palestine Liberation Army
16. January 18, 1948 Attack on Convoy on Jaffa Road
17. January 19, 1948 United Nations Sponsored Peace Conference
18. January 19, 1948 Training of the Arab Liberation Army
19. January 27, 1948 Convoy of Jewish Trucks Attacked Near Ein Gazala
20. January 29, 1948 Suleiman Abdul Bey, the Mayor of Nablus
21. January 30, 1948 Arrival of Arab Bands from Outside of Palestine
22. February 5, 1948 Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Visits Damascus
23. February 13, 1948 Israel Offers Peace, the Grand Mufti Rejects
24. February 16, 1948 Security Situation in Jerusalem
25. February 16, 1948 Murder in Haifa
26. February 16, 1948 Mutilation of Jewish Bodies
27. February  22, 1948 Jerusalem’s Latest Scene of Terrorism
28. February 22, 1948 Arabs Request Trained Street-Fighters from Syria
29. February 27, 1948 Arab Leaders Oppose Israel
30. February 27, 1948 Colonel Abdul Wahab Bey Arrives at Jaffa
31. March 1948 British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin
32. March 1948 British Granted Concession to Iraq Petrol Company
33. March 4, 1948 Jewish Force Ambushed, Arabs Kill 17
34. March 4, 1948 Arab League’s Palestine Committee
35. March 5, 1948 Arab Liberation Army
36. March 6, 1948 Heavy Arab Artillery Moved into Palestine via Syria
37. March 7, 1948 Field Commander of PLA Enters Palestine from Syria
38. March 9, 1948 Volunteers Invited to Join Arab Forces in Haifa Region
39. March 9, 1948 Peace Project for Jerusalem
40. March 11, 1948 Wing of the Jewish Agency Headquarters Blown Up
41. March 11, 1948 Thirteen Murdered Outside the Jewish Agency Building
42. March 11, 1948 Small-Scale Guerrilla Raids by Arabs
43. March 12, 1948 British Reveal Non-Arab Volunteers in Palestine
44. March 12, 1948 Attack on the Jerusalem-Jaffa Road
45. March 13, 1948 Arab Attack on Maccabi Quarter, Tel Aviv
46. March 14, 1948 TWA Plane Leaving Lydda Fired On
47. March 15, 1948 Support for Jihad by Pakistani Moslem Leaders
48. March 16, 1948 Palestinian Arab Higher Committee Representative Isa Nakleh
49. March 17, 1948 Arab Military Commander’s Threats
50. March 19, 1948 Arab Liberation Army
51. March 19, 1948 US State Department Says No to State of Israel
52. March 19, 1948 Arab Claim: Jewish Palestine will Lead to Communism
53. March 21, 1948 Jewish Convoy Attacked Near Bab el Wad
54. March 27, 1948 Mutilation of Jewish Corpses by Arabs
55. March 30, 1948  Jerusalem Jews Ration Bread
56. March 30, 1948 Secretary of Arab Higher Committee Rejects Jerusalem Truce Proposal
57. March 30, 1948 Royal Navy Sends Jewish Immigrants to Cyprus
58. March 30, 1948 Arabs Pick Up and Leave Villages in Tel Aviv Region
59. March 31, 1948 Jewish Convoy Attacked, Seventeen Killed
60. March-April 1948 Arab Refugees
61. April 1948 Arab Refugees
62. April 1948 Israel Offers Peace
63. April 3 1948 Arab Higher Committee Encouraged Refugees to Flee
64. April 4, 1948 British Try to Make Peace Between Sides Fighting at Kastel
65. April 7, 1948 French Representative in UN – Arabs Fled, Not Forced Out
66. April 8, 1948 Interview with Sheikh Ismail el Ansary
67. April 8, 1948 Disruption of Water Supply to Jerusalem
68. April 9, 1948 Mutilation of Corpses at Kastel
69. April 9, 1948 Deir Yassin
70. April 12,1948 Jews of Jerusalem Starving Due to Arab Road Blocks
71. April 13, 1948 Hadassah Convoy Massacre
72. April 13, 1948 Hadassah Convoy Massacre – Firsthand Medical Staff Account
73. April 13, 1948 Hadassah Convoy Massacre – Yehuda Bromberg
74. April 13, 1948 Hadassah Convoy Massacre – Yehuda Mattot
75. April 15, 1948 Security Council Failed to Act on Palestine Truce
76. April 15, 1948 Dr. Barnes to Commander of 2nd Infantry Brigade, Jerusalem
77. April 15, 1948 Ismail Safwat Pasha, Arab Liberation Armies
78. April 15, 1948 GOC British Troops in Palestine to President of Zion University
79. April 15, 1948 Jewish Forces against Arab Forces
80. April 18, 1948 Dr. Barnes Responds to GOC’s Claims Regarding the Hadassah Massacre
81. April 18, 1948 6,000 Arabs Suddenly Left Tiberias
82. April 22, 1948 Excerpts from Syrian and Egyptian Addresses in U.N.
83. April 23, 1948 Acting Chairman of Palestine Higher Committee
84. April 23, 1948 Arab Mass Evacuation of Haifa
85. April 24, 1948 Attacks in Haifa Started By Arabs
86. Apri 25-29 1948 Arab Refugees
87. April 26, 1948 Statement of High-Ranking British Officer in Haifa 
88. April 26, 1948 Arab Nations May Invade Palestine by Saturday
89. April 26, 1948 Arab Evacuation of Acre
90. April 27, 1948 British Deny Abdullah War on Zionism
91. April 27, 1948 Arabs Slay Briton
92. April 27, 1948 558 Immigrants Deported to Cyprus by British
93. April 28, 1948 Bevin Declares Palestine Exit May 15 Is Sure
94. May 2, 1948 Arab Nations of the Middle East Invade Palestine
95. May 2, 1948 Map of Palestine
96. May 3, 1948 Haifa Becomes a Ghost City
97. May 5, 1948 Arab Refugees
98. May 5, 1948 War Develops
99. May 8, 1948 Lebanese and Jordanian Infiltrators
100. May 12, 1948 Azzam Pasha, Secretary General of the Arab League
101. May 12, 1948 Palestine Regime Planned by Arabs; Will Reject Truce
102. May 12, 1948 Is Palestine War a Myth? San Francisco Chronicle
103. May 12, 1948 Foreign Minister of Egypt on Intention to Annihilate Israel
104. May 13, 1948 Massacre at Kfar Etzion
105. May 13, 1948 Haganah Galilee Offensive – Operation Ben-Ami
106. May 13, 1948 President Truman vs. Secretary of State on Palestine
107. May 14, 1948 Truman and Marshall’s Ongoing Conflict over Palestine
108. May 14, 1948 Israel’s Declaration of Independence
109. May 14, 1948 Termination of the White Paper of 1939
110. May 14, 1948 Palestinian Refugees Flee to Gaza from all over the World
111. May 15, 1948 Reaction of Arab States to End of British Mandate
112. May 15, 1948 West Bank Annexed, Gaza Closed Military Zone
113. May 15, 1948 The New York Times Reports on Declaration of Independence
114. May 15, 1948 1,256 Jews Killed between Nov ’47 and May ’48
115. May 15, 1948 Palestine’s Arabs Welcome Advancing Arab Armies
116. May 15, 1948 Arab Legion Waiting in Jordan to Cross into Palestine
117. May 16, 1948 Colonel David Marcus Reports on Jewish Forces’ Resolve
118. May 17 1948 US Delegation to UN on Invasion by Arab Armies 
119. May 18, 1948 Arab Leader Cooperates with King Abdullah
120. May 19, 1948 Arab Legion Participates in Jerusalem Attack
121. May 19, 1948 Russian Delegate Reports to U.N. on Arab Aggression
122. May 20, 1948 Worldwide Indifference to Jordanian Havoc in Jerusalem
123. May 26, 1948 May 26, 1948 Arabs Urge Action by Security Council
124. May 27, 1948 Havoc and Destruction in the Old City of Jerusalem
125. May 30, 1948 Arab Refugees from Jaffa
126. May 30, 1948 Haganah Takes on Ramleh and Lydda Strongholds
127. May 30, 1948 Withdrawal of British Officers from Arab Legion
128. May 30, 1948 Jewish Refugees from Egypt
129. May 30, 1948 Almost Daily Air Bombardment in Israel
130. June 1, 1948 Posters Urging Massacre of the Jews, Morocco
131. June 1, 1948 Fighting by the Port of Nahariya
132. June 3, 1948 King Abdullah of Jordan
133. June 4, 1948 Egypt & Lebanon against Jewish State
134. June 7-8 1948 Jewish Refugees from Morocco
135. June 11, 1948 Secretary General of the Arab League, Azzam Pasha
136. June 12, 1948 Peace Talks Scheduled, Arabs May Not Agree to Attend
137. June 17, 1948 Arab League: U.N. Needs to Shelve Partition Plan
138. June 21, 1948 Jerusalem Restocked to Near Normal Point
139. June 30, 1948 Count Bernadotte Proposes Federal  State in Palestine
140. June 30, 1948 Arab Refugees
141. July 1948 Zionist Activity Punishable by Execution in Iraq
142. July 1, 1948 Lieutenant General John Glubb on Palestinian Jews
143. July 1, 1948 Prime Minister Ben-Gurion on Forgiving Britain
144. July 1, 1948 Two Arab Monarchs Insist on Full Control of Palestine
145. July 7, 1948 Israeli Civilian Aircraft Shot Down, Two Killed
146. July 9, 1948 King Farouk Dissatisfied with Arabs Who Fled Palestine
147. July 10, 1948 Civilians Flee Lydda and Ramleh Before Towns Captured
148. July 10, 1948 Israeli Forces Capture Lydda Airport
149. July 11, 1948 Fighting over Ramleh and Lydda
150. July 12, 1948 Calm in Lydda Shattered
151. July 13, 1948 Villages near Lydda Recaptured by Israeli Troops
152. July 19, 1948 Jewish Department Store in Cairo Blown Up
153. July 19, 1948 Arab Countries Don’t Agree to Arab League’s Truce
154. July 20, 1948 Pogrom in Egypt
155. July 24, 1948 Israel Offers Peace
156. July 27, 1948 Jewish Refugees – Lebanon
157. July 28, 1948 Jewish Refugees – Egypt
158. August 1948 – Jewish Refugees – Egypt
159. August 1 1948 Jewish Refugees – Egypt
160. August 1, 1948 Israel Offers Peace
161. August 3, 1948 Arab Refugees
162. August 4, 1948 Arab Refugees
163. August 4, 1948 Israel Seeks Freedom for Jews in Cyprus
164. August 6, 1948 Israel Asks Arabs to Discuss Peace at Direct Parley
165. August 12, 1948 Arab Refugees
166. August 13, 1948 Arab Refugees
167. August 14, 1948 Arab Refugees
168. August 16, 1948 Arab Refugees
169. August 28, 1948 – Jewish Refugees – Iraq
170. August 31, 1948 Jamal Husseini’s Description of the Palestine Situation
171. September 1948 Jewish Refugees – Iraq
172. September 6, 1948 Arab Refugees
173. September 8, 1948 Arabs to Discontinue Talks on Truce Due to Refugees
174. September 22, 1948 Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries
175. September 23, 1948 Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries – Iraq
176. September 27, 1948 Arab Refugees
177. September 28, 1948 Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries – Egypt
178. October 1948 Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries – Egypt
179. October 2, 1948 Israel Offers Peace
180. October 8, 1948 Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries – Iraq
181. October 19, 1948 Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries – Iraq
182. November 1948 Arab Refugees
183. November 9, 1948 Raphael Lemkin Coins the Word “Genocide”
184. November 25, 1948 Jewish State Supported by U.N. Majority
185. December 1948 Arab Refugees
186. December 1948 Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries – Yemen
187. December 14, 1948 100,000 Rally in Egypt against Partition of Palestine