Battle for the Negev — Operation Yoav

October 15 – November 5, 1948 · Southern Palestine Theater

October 15 – November 5, 1948

Operation Yoav — Israel's major southern offensive — cuts off and destroys Egyptian forces in the Negev desert. Israeli Air Force attacks on the Egyptian column at Faluja trap a brigade including a young Major Gamal Abdel Nasser. The operation secures the Negev for Israel but stops short of the Suez Canal under US pressure.

• ●Battle for the Negev — Operation Yoav