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1948 Arab-Israeli War: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As Israelā€™s War of Independence ā€¢ Nakba
Date May 15, 1948 - July 20, 1949
Participants Egypt ā€¢ Iraq ā€¢ Israel ā€¢ Lebanon ā€¢ Syria

Photos and Videos

1948 Arab-Israeli War: December 1948
Map showing the United Nations partition plan for Palestine adopted in 1947, with areas color-coded to indicate proposed Jewish state, Arab state, and a separate Jerusalem district. The map includes key cities and regions, borders with Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan, and Egypt, and highlights the Mediterranean coast.
Map of the Middle East highlighting countries in orange, including Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and Afghanistan. Surrounding bodies of water such as the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean are labeled.
Israel along its 1949 postwar borders
Large group of Arab men, many wearing keffiyehs, gather around and board a truck with rifles, preparing to leave their village in Palestine during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Stone buildings and hills are visible in the background.
Remains of Deir Yassin
Large group of Palestinian refugees, including women and children, gathered outside a building with tents and shelters spread across the landscape in the background during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Israel's War of Independence
See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Key People

David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
prime minister of Israel
Ralph Bunche, 1951.
Ralph Bunche
American diplomat
Bernadotte, Folke, Greve
Greve Folke Bernadotte
Swedish diplomat

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