Operation Hametz

Operation Hametz
Part of the Plan Dalet, the Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, and the Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine
Date 25–30 April 1948 Location Towns around Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine Result Yishuv victory[1] Jewish paramilitaries capture several Arab towns around Jaffa[1] British intervention temporarily halts offensive towards Jaffa[1] Failed British attempt to retake Menashiya[1] Territorial changes Jewish conquest of Saqiya, Kafr 'Ana, Al-Khayriyya, Yazur, Bayt Dajan, Al-Safiriyya, Al-'Abbasiyya and Menashiya
Belligerents
Yishuv Irgun Haganah	Arab Liberation Army	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Menachem Begin Amichai Paglin	?	Gordon MacMillan
Casualties and losses
Irgun: 42 dead, ~400 wounded[1]	Unknown	Total losses unclear; several tanks destroyed[1]

Operation Hametz (Hebrew: מבצע חמץ, Mivtza Hametz) was a Zionist operation towards the end of Mandatory Palestine, as part of the 1948 Palestine war. It was launched at the end of April 1948 with the objective of capturing villages inland from Jaffa and establishing a blockade around the town.^[2] The operation, which led to the first direct battle between the British and the Irgun, was seen as a great victory for the latter, and enabled the Irgun to take credit for the complete conquest of Jaffa that happened on May 13.^[1]

The battle was the first and only time that the British became heavily involved in fighting between the Jews and the Arabs during the 1948 Palestine war.^[3]