How did Jewish military forces take control of Jaffa in 1948?

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Tel Aviv–Yafo Beach and high-rise buildings in Tel Aviv–Yafo, Israel.

In the lead-up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Irgun Zvai Leumi initiated an attack on Jaffa on April 26, 1948, with the objective of ensuring the city would be part of the future Jewish state, as they considered the boundary between Jaffa and Tel Aviv to be indefensible.1

This military action resulted in the displacement of nearly all of the city’s 70,000 Arab Muslim and Christian residents. By May 13, 1948—two days before the British mandate ended and Arab forces invaded—Jaffa was securely under the control of Jewish paramilitaries. Following the war, Jaffa was incorporated into the state of Israel, and in 1950, it was formally united with Tel Aviv.213