Beit Hanoun wedge

Battle of Beit Hanoun wedge
Part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Yiftach Brigade in Beit Hanoun, 22 October 1948
Date October 15 – October 22, 1948 Location Beit Hanoun, Mandatory Palestine Result Israeli tactical failure in dividing the Egyptian expeditionary force Territorial changes Israel occupies Beit Hanoun until the 1949 Armistice Agreements
Belligerents
Israel	Egypt
Commanders and leaders
Moshe Dayan Shimon Avidan	King Farouk I

The Beit Hanoun wedge (Hebrew: טְרִיז בֵּיתּ חָנוּן, Triz Beit Hanun) was a piece of land around Beit Hanoun (today in the Gaza Strip) that the Israel Defense Forces captured during Operation Yoav in the final stage of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. With this and other wedges, the Israelis hoped to divide various units in the Egyptian army's expeditionary force in Palestine as part of Operation Yoav's plan. The battles around the wedge were fought on October 15–22, 1948. Creating the wedge involved the capture of a series of positions overlooking Beit Hanoun between October 15–19, and eventually taking the village itself between October 20–22.

The Israelis deployed a reinforced battalion from the Yiftach Brigade for the operation, with another battalion in the reserve. On the first day, eight outlying positions were captured with little resistance, and bridges surrounding Beit Hanoun were blown up. The Egyptians created a bypass to the west of the road and managed to evacuate their staff. The Israelis captured Beit Hanoun on October 19–20 and more outlying positions, which forced Egypt to move their forces through the sands between the road and the Mediterranean Sea. The Beit Hanoun wedge as a tactic was unsuccessful, because the objective of dividing the Egyptian expeditionary force was not achieved, but it accomplished other strategic goals in Operation Yoav.