List of massacres committed prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war in Mandate Palestine

This is a list of massacres committed during the Palestine Mandate era. It is restricted to incidents in which at least 3 people were deliberately killed. This list does not include unlawful deaths due to criminal activity. It includes all casualties that resulted from the initial attack on civilians or non-combat military personnel.

Note: The designation "responsible party" below refers to those believed to be the principle instigators of the violence. Where culpability is disputed or ambiguous, the sources cited support the chosen designation.

List of killings and massacres committed in Mandate Palestine

Name	Date	Responsible party	Casualties/notes
Tel Hai	March 1, 1920	Debatable. Either the Jews Jews The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation... or the Arabs.	8 Jews Jews The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation... killed; 5 Arabs killed. Historian Tom Segev Tom Segev Tom Segev is an Israeli historian, author and journalist. He is associated with Israel's so-called New Historians, a group challenging many of the country's traditional narratives.-Early life:Segev was born in Jerusalem in 1945... states in his book One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs under the British Mandate, that Yosef Trumpeldor may have opened fire.
Nebi Musa riots	April 4- April 7, 1920	Arabs	5 Jews, 4 Arabs killed; 216 Jews, 18 Arabs, 7 Britons British people The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants... wounded
Jaffa riots Jaffa riots The Jaffa riots were a series of violent riots in Palestine on May 1–7, 1921, which began as a fight between two Jewish groups but developed into an attack by Arabs on Jews during which many were killed... and attacks by Arabs on Rehovot Rehovot Rehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,... , Petah Tikva Petah Tikva Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately... , Kfar Sava, Hadera Hadera Hadera is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel approximately from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along of the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain...	May 1- May 7, 1921	Arabs, British authorities and police	48 Arabs, 45 Jews killed; 140 Jews, 73 Arabs wounded, after May Day May Day May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures.... clash between Jewish and Arab socialists Arabs attacked to Jewish population
Hebron massacre 1929 Hebron massacre The Hebron massacre refers to the killing of sixty-seven Jews on 23 and 24 August 1929 in Hebron, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine, by Arabs incited to violence by rumors that Jews were massacring Arabs in Jerusalem and seizing control of Muslim holy places...	August 23- August 26, 1929	Arabs	133 Jews, 116 Arabs killed; 339 Jews, 232 Arabs wounded
Safed massacre 1929 Safed massacre The 1929 Safed pogrom took place on 29 August during the 1929 Palestine riots. Eighteen Jews were killed and eighty wounded. The main Jewish street was looted and burned...	August 29, 1929	Arabs, British police (stayed passive)	18-20 Jews killed; 80 Jews wounded
Labor Strike Revolt	April 15- October 12, 1936	Arabs, Jews, British authorities	138 Arabs, 80 Jews, 33 British killed
1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine	September 27, 1937 - 1939	Arabs, Jews, British authorities	5,000 Arabs, 415 Jews, several hundred Britons killed
King David Hotel bombing King David Hotel bombing The King David Hotel bombing was an attack carried out by themilitant right-wing Zionist underground organization Irgun on the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946...	July 22, 1946	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	91 killed, including 41 Arabs, 28 Britons, and 17 Jews; 40-45 wounded
N/A	December 13, 1947	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	16 Arabs killed; 67 Arabs wounded from bombings in Jerusalem and Jaffa; Irgun also burns down 100 Arab homes in Jaffa
N/A (See Beit Nabala)	December 14, 1947	Arab Legion Arab Legion The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...	13 Jews killed (some sources say 14); 9 Jews, 2 Britons, 1 Arab wounded in attack on military convoy near Lydda
al-Khisas	December 18, 1947	Haganah Haganah Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...	10 Arabs killed
N/A	December 24, 1947	Arab snipers, Jewish militants	4 Jews killed in Haifa by snipers, 4 Arabs killed in reprisals
N/A	December 26, 1947	Arab militants	7 Jews killed while driving in convoy to Jerusalem
N/A	December 28, 1947	Arab Snipers, Jewish militants	5 Jews killed in Bab el Wad by snipers, 5 Arabs killed in reprisals
N/A	December 29, 1947	Arab militants, Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	4 Jews killed in Tel Aviv from mortar and sniper fire, 13 Arabs killed in Jerusalem in Irgun bombing
Bomb thrown on Damascus Gate Damascus Gate Damascus Gate is the main entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side where the highway leads out to Nablus, and from there, in times past, to the capital of Syria, Damascus; as such, its modern English name is Damascus Gate, and its modern Hebrew... Café in Jerusalem	December 29, 1947	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	11 Arabs, 2 Britons killed Uri Milstein Uri Milstein Uri Milstein is an Israeli military historian and poet.-Biography:Uri Milstein was born in Tel Aviv to Avraham Milstein, a volunteer in the British army in World War II, and Sarah Milstein, a kindergarten teacher. He studied at Hayil school in Tel Aviv's Yad Eliyahu neighborhood, Hadassim youth... reported 15 casualties from the bombing in the Palestine Post.
Haifa Oil Refinery Haifa Oil Refinery massacre The Haifa Oil Refinery massacre took place on 30 December 1947. After operatives of the Zionist paramilitary organisation, the Irgun, threw a number of grenades at a crowd of 100 Arab day-labourers who had gathered outside the main gate of the then British-owned Haifa Oil Refinery looking for work,...	December 30, 1947	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah... , Arabs	6 Arabs were killed at the refinery entrance in Haifa in an Irgun bombing, sparking a riot among the workers in which 39 Jews killed
Balad al-Shaykh Balad al-Shaykh massacre Balad al-Shaykh, was an Arab village, now part of the Israeli town of Nesher where a massacre was perpetrated on the night of December 31, 1947, to January 1, 1948...	January 1, 1948	Palmach Palmach The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...	17 - 70 Arabs killed in Haifa
N/A	January 3, 1948	Arab militants	4 Jews killed in Haifa
N/A	January 3, 1948	Arab militants	3 Jews, 1 Briton killed in Jerusalem
Bombing of Arab National Committee HQ	January 4, 1948	Stern Gang	14 Arabs killed; 100 Arabs wounded
Semiramis Hotel bombing	January 5, 1948	Haganah Haganah Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...	20 Arabs killed in Jerusalem
N/A	January 5, 1948	Arabs, Jews	4 Arabs killed after attacking Jewish quarter in Safed
Jaffa Gate bombing in Jerusalem	January 7, 1948	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	15 - 20 Arabs killed
N/A	January 9, 1948	Arab militants	35 Jews killed near Kfar Etzion
N/A	January 10, 1948	Arab militants	11 Jews killed, 1 decapitated near Yavne
N/A	January 14, 1948	Arab militants	7 Jews, 2 Britons killed in Haifa
N/A	January 20, 1948	Arab militants	8 Jews killed in Yehiam
N/A	January 22, 1948	Arab militants	7 Jews killed near Yazur
N/A	January 25, 1948	Arab militants	10 Jews killed
N/A	January 27, 1948	British soldiers	4 Arabs killed in Gaza
N/A	Feb 3, 1948	Arab militants	6 Jews killed while riding buses in Haifa
N/A	Feb 7, 1948	Arabs, Jews	3 Arabs, 3 Jews killed in Haifa
N/A	Feb 8, 1948	Arabs	6 Jews killed in Jerusalem
N/A	Feb 8, 1948	Arab militants	3 Jews killed in Tel Aviv
N/A	Feb 12, 1948	Arabs	4 Jews killed in Jerusalem
N/A	Feb 15, 1948	Arab militants, Jewish militants	5 Arabs, 3 Jews killed
Sa'sa' Sa'sa' Sa'sa was a Palestinian village, located 12 kilometres northwest of Safed that was depopulated by Israeli forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war... village ambush in the Safad district	February 14, 1948	Palmach Palmach The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...	11 Arabs killed
N/A	Feb 17, 1948	Arab militants, Jewish militants	5 Arabs, 3 Jews killed
N/A	Feb 17, 1948	Arab militants	57 Arabs killed while taking part in attack on Jewish settlements Tirat Tzvi, Sde Eliahu, Ein HaNatziv
Ramla Ramla Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region... vegetable market bombing	18 February 1948	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	12 killed, 43 wounded
N/A	Feb 19, 1948	Arab militants	4 Jews killed while riding buses in Haifa
N/A	Feb 21, 1948	Jewish militants	4 Arabs killed in Haifa
Ben Yehuda Street bombing	Feb 23, 1948	Arab militants, British deserters	55 Jews killed
N/A	Feb 25, 1948	Arab militants	3 Jews killed on road between Ramle and Tel Aviv
N/A	Feb 28, 1948	Arab militants	6 Arabs, 1 Jew killed during attack on Jewish village Kfar Sava
N/A	Feb 18, 1948	Arab militants	4 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish settlement Mitzpe
Rehovot Train bombing	March 1, 1948	Jewish militants	28 Britons killed
Bevingrad Officers Club bombing	March 1, 1948	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	20 Britons killed; 30 Britons wounded
N/A	March 1, 1948	Arab militants	4 Jews killed on Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road
N/A	March 2, 1948	Arab militants	6 Arabs, 3 Jews killed during Arab attack on Tel-Aviv Jerusalem road
N/A	March 4, 1948	Arab militants	16 Jews killed on Jerusalem-Atarot road
N/A	March 9, 1948	Arab militants	3 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish settlement Yehiam
N/A	March 11, 1948	Jews, Arabs	4 Arabs, 1 Jew killed in Tiberius
Jewish Agency bombing	March 11, 1948	Arab militants	13 Jews killed
N/A	March 14, 1948	Arab militants	7 Jews killed near Faluja
N/A	March 14, 1948	Jews, Arabs	4 Arabs, 1 Jew killed in Tiberius
N/A	March 18, 1948	Arab militants	5 Britons, 4 Jews killed in convoy near Acre
N/A	March 20, 1948	Arabs	7 Jews killed at Ein Harod
N/A	March 21, 1948	Arabs	6 Jews killed on Rosh Pinna-Safed road
N/A	March 22, 1948	Arab militants	4 Jews, 20 Arabs during attack on Jewish settlement Nitzanim
N/A	March 24, 1948	Jewish militants	36 Arabs killed near Tulkarem
N/A	March 26, 1948	Arab militants	6 Arabs, 2 Jews killed in attack on Jewish convoy near Gaza
N/A	March 28, 1948	Arab militants	6 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish convoy near Rehovot
N/A	March 28, 1948	Arab militants	6 Arabs killed while participating in attack on Jewish convoy near Safed
Cairo-Haifa train bombing	March 31, 1948	Lehi Lehi (group) Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...	40 Arabs killed; 60 Arabs wounded
Massacre in an orange grove in Lydda	1 April 1948	Jewish militias	11 Arab laborers killed
Deir Yassin Deir Yassin massacre The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...	April 9, 1948	Irgun Irgun The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...	~ 100 Arabs killed
Hadassah medical convoy Hadassah medical convoy massacre The Hadassah medical convoy massacre took place on April 13, 1948, when a convoy, escorted by Haganah militia, bringing medical and fortification supplies and personnel to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus was ambushed by Arab forces....	April 13, 1948	Arab militants	78 Jews (nurses, doctors, and patients) killed
Cairo-Haifa Train bombing	April 23, 1948	Lehi Lehi (group) Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...	8 Britons killed; 27 Britons wounded
Sorona Police Station bombing	April 25, 1948	Lehi Lehi (group) Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...	4 Britons killed
Ein al Zeitun Ein al Zeitun massacre The Ein al Zeitun massacre occurred on May 1, 1948 at the Arab village of Ein al-Zeitun just north of Safed, then part of the British Mandate for Palestine. Between 30 and 70 Arab prisoners were killed by the Palmach....	May 3, 1948	Palmach Palmach The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...	37 - 70 Arab prisoners
Kfar Etzion Kfar Etzion massacre The Kfar Etzion massacre was an act committed by Arab armed forces on May 13, 1948, the day before the Declaration of Independence of the state of Israel.-Background:...	May 13, 1948	Arab militants and Arab Legion Arab Legion The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...	127-157 Jews killed
Abu Shusha Abu Shusha Abu Shusha was an Arab village in Palestine, 8 km southeast of Ramle which was depopulated in 1948.Abu Shusha was located on the slope of Tel Jazar, which is commonly identified with the ancient city of Gezer....	May 14, 1948	Israeli	60

List of killings and massacres committed in Mandate Palestine

See also