From Deir Yassin to Dahmash Mosque: The scars of 1948 still bleed

As Palestinians and supporters commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Nakba on May 15, the memory of the “catastrophe” that befell the Palestinian people during the 1947-1949 period remains a cornerstone of their identity and struggle.

The Nakba refers to the forced displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians—more than half the population—during the establishment of the Israeli Occupation in 1948, accompanied by the destruction of over 530 villages and the deaths of approximately 15,000 people.

Among the many tragic events of this period, certain episodes, such as the Deir Yassin massacre, Operation Cast Thy Bread, and the Lod Dahmash Mosque massacre, stand out for their brutality and their role in accelerating the Palestinian exodus.

-Deir Yassin massacre -

On April 9, 1948, the village of Deir Yassin, a small Palestinian community of about 600 people near Jerusalem, became the site of one of the Nakba’s most infamous atrocities.

The Irgun and Lehi, two hardline Zionist militias, attacked the village at dawn, despite its reported neutrality and a non-aggression pact with neighboring Jewish communities. The assault was part of Operation Nachshon, aimed at securing the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road for "Israeli" forces.

The attackers met resistance from villagers armed with light weapons, but the militias, equipped with firearms and explosives, quickly overwhelmed them. Over several hours, they systematically killed men, women, and children, with estimates of the death toll ranging from 100 to 120, though some accounts suggest higher numbers.

Eyewitness testimonies, later corroborated by "Israeli" and international sources, describe horrific acts: families shot in their homes, bodies mutilated, and survivors paraded through Jerusalem before being executed or expelled. Some victims were thrown into a quarry, and houses were dynamited or looted.

The massacre’s psychological impact was profound. News of Deir Yassin, amplified by Arab radio broadcasts and survivor accounts, spread terror across Palestine, prompting thousands to flee their homes in fear of similar fates. Deir Yassin became a catalyst for the Nakba, accelerating the Palestinian exodus and emboldening further militia attacks.

- Operation Cast Thy Bread -

Operation Cast Thy Bread emerged as Zionist forces sought to secure territory for a Jewish state following the UN’s partition plan. With the British Mandate nearing its end and Arab resistance intensifying, the Haganah, under leaders like David Ben-Gurion and Yigael Yadin, explored unconventional tactics to weaken Palestinian communities and deter their return to captured villages.

The operation, codenamed after a biblical verse from Ecclesiastes 11:1, began in April 1948, a month before "Israel’s" declaration of independence. Its primary goals were to terrorize Palestinians into permanent flight and to complicate military efforts by Arab states intervening after May 15, 1948.

The operation violated the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which banned biological and chemical weapons in warfare. It was orchestrated by the Haganah’s scientific unit, HEMED BEIT, established in February 1948 in Jaffa by Yigael Yadin, who dispatched microbiology student Alexander Keynan and scientist Ephraim Katzir (later "Israel’s" president) to develop biological capabilities.

Documents uncovered by historians Benny Morris and Benjamin Z. Kedar, including Ben-Gurion’s diary entries about “biological materials” purchased for USD 2,000, confirm high-level authorization and a deliberate strategy to weaponize typhoid bacteria.

Operation Cast Thy Bread initially targeted wells in Palestinian villages between Jerusalem and Jaffa (now Tel Aviv), areas critical to Zionist control. Ordinary Haganah soldiers carried out early poisonings, but the task later shifted to the Mista’arvim, an undercover unit specializing in sabotage, who disguised themselves as Palestinians to infiltrate communities. The operation expanded to include Acre, Eilabun, and Gaza, with plans—ultimately unexecuted—to poison water sources in Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria as Arab armies entered the war.

Key incidents include:

Acre (May 1948): Zionist forces, likely the Carmeli Brigade, contaminated Acre’s aqueduct, a vital water source for the city allocated to an Arab state under the UN plan. By May 3, the mayor reported “extreme distress” as a typhoid epidemic struck, with Red Cross records noting 90 cases among locals and 65 among British troops. An "Israeli" intelligence report later credited the epidemic with hastening Acre’s fall to the Haganah on May 17-18.

Gaza (May 1948): During Operation Shalach, four Mista’arvim operatives, disguised as Arabs, attempted to poison Gaza’s water supply to disrupt Egyptian forces. Carrying tubes of typhoid germs, they were captured by Egyptian troops on May 23 and executed by a military court on August 22. Egypt reported the incident to the UK, which deemed it “obnoxious” but avoided intervention.

Biddu, Bayt Mahsir, and other villages (April-May 1948): Documents show Moshe Dayan, then a field commander, oversaw well poisonings in villages like Biddu and Bayt Mahsir, northwest and south of Jerusalem, to prevent Palestinian militiamen from returning. These actions, coordinated with HEMED BEIT, caused illness among dozens of residents.

The operation’s scope was broader than previously thought, with Morris and Kedar uncovering orders to poison wells in Jewish locales slated for evacuation, ensuring they were unusable if captured by Arabs. Despite dissent from some military figures, Ben-Gurion, Yadin, and commanders like Yohanan Ratner and Dayan drove the campaign, which continued until December 1948.

- Lod Dahmash Mosque massacre -

Among the Nakba’s most harrowing events was the Dahmash Mosque massacre in Lod, where "Israeli" forces killed dozens of Palestinian civilians seeking refuge in a mosque during the city’s conquest in July 1948.

On July 12, 1948, as "Israeli" forces consolidated control over Lod, a group of Palestinian civilians—estimates range from 70 to 176 men, women, and children—sought shelter in the Dahmash Mosque, believing it would be a safe haven. The mosque, located in the city’s center, was a place of worship and community gathering, its sanctity assumed to offer protection.

However, "Israeli" troops, primarily from the 3rd Battalion and possibly the Palmach, targeted the mosque, suspecting it harbored armed fighters or fearing it could become a resistance hub.

According to survivor accounts and historical records, including those by "Israeli" historian Benny Morris and Palestinian oral histories, soldiers fired anti-tank rockets (PIAT projectiles) and machine guns at the mosque, killing dozens inside. Some reports describe grenades thrown through windows, with shrapnel and gunfire cutting down those huddled within. The exact death toll remains disputed: Morris cites around 70 killed, while Palestinian sources, including Lod residents interviewed by the Zochrot organization, estimate up to 176, including entire families. Among the victims were women, children, and elderly men, with no evidence they were combatants.

The massacre was part of a broader wave of violence in Lod. On the same day, "Israeli" troops conducted house-to-house searches, killing an estimated 250-400 Palestinians across the city, according to Morris and "Israeli" military reports. The Dahmash Mosque killings stood out for their brutality and the violation of a sacred space, amplifying the terror that drove survivors to flee.

The Dahmash Mosque massacre was a prelude to the mass expulsion of Lod’s population. On July 12-13, under orders from Yitzhak Rabin and approved by David Ben-Gurion, "Israeli" forces expelled 50,000-70,000 Palestinians from Lod and nearby Ramle.

Residents were forced to march eastward toward Jordanian-held territory, with minimal possessions, in what became known as the “Lod Death March.” Hundreds died from dehydration, exhaustion, and shootings during the trek, with summer heat and lack of water exacerbating the suffering. The Dahmash Mosque survivors, if not killed, were among those driven out, their homes later looted or reassigned to Jewish immigrants.

The massacre and expulsion erased Lod’s Palestinian character. By 1949, the city was repopulated with Jewish residents and renamed Lod, becoming a symbol of "Israel’s" demographic transformation. The Dahmash Mosque, damaged but not destroyed, was abandoned for years, its bloodstained walls a silent testament to the violence. Today, it stands as a historical site, though access is restricted, and its story is marginalized in "Israeli" narratives.

"Israel" initially suppressed details of the massacre, with official accounts claiming Lod’s fall involved minimal civilian casualties. However, declassified "Israeli" forces archives and testimonies from soldiers, such as those collected by Zochrot, confirm the deliberate targeting of civilians. Palestinian oral histories, passed down through generations, preserve vivid accounts of the mosque’s desecration, with survivors like Ismail Abu Daoud describing “corpses piled inside” and “screams silenced by gunfire.”