Operation Black Arrow
Encyclopedia
Operation Black Arrow was an Israeli military operation carried out in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

 (while under Egyptian control) on 28 February 1955. The operation targeted the Egyptian army. Thirty-eight Egyptian soldiers were killed during the operation as were eight Israelis.

Background

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...

 resulted in a decisive Israeli victory. However, the Arab nations remained intransigent and were only willing to sign armistice agreements with Israel. Thus, a static situation of “no war, no peace,” emerged. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Arab refugees now camped alongside Israel’s porous borders. The refugees lived in squalor, were kept under martial law and were prevented from gaining citizenship in their respective Arab host countries. Arab governments, but in particular Egypt, sensing the refugees’ discontent, capitalized on the opportunity to recruit embittered Palestinians for terrorist actions against Israel. At first, the infiltrations and border transgressions took the form of petty banditry and thievery. However, by 1954, Egyptian military intelligence was taking an active role in providing various forms of support for Palestinian (Fedayeen
Fedayeen
Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...

) terrorist activity. After one such atrocity, Israel decided to take decisive action against Egypt for its sponsorship of terror and initiated Operation Black Arrow.

Casus Belli

On February 25, 1955 Arab infiltrators murdered an Israeli civilian in the town of Rechovot. One of the terrorists who was pursued and killed by Israeli forces was found to be in possession of documents linking him to Egyptian military intelligence. Defense Minister David Ben Gurion and Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...

 demanded a harsh response directed against those believed to have sponsored the atrocity. Prime Minister Moshe Sharett
Moshe Sharett
Moshe Sharett on 15 October 1894, died 7 July 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel , serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurion's two terms.-Early life:...

 was more hesitant but demurred.

The attack

On February 28, Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....

, commander of the Paratroop Brigade was issued the go ahead to initiate Operation Black Arrow. That night, a force of 150 paratroops, led by Aharon Davidi
Aharon Davidi
Aharon Davidi is an Israeli general and founder of the Sar-El volunteer program of the IDF.-Biography:He was born in Israel as the youngest son of an immigrant family from Bender, . At the age of fifteen, he served in the Haganah and Palmach...

 and Danny Matt
Danny Matt
Danny Matt is a former decorated career Israeli military officer who served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 until 1992. He attained the rank of Major General and fought in five Arab-Israeli wars including the wars of 1948 and 1973. Among his many exploits was a daring operation which...

 attacked an Egyptian army base near the city of Gaza. An Egyptian military relief convoy was ambushed in route. In total, between thirty-seven and thirty-eight Egyptian soldiers were killed and many more injured for the loss of eight Israelis.

Aftermath

In Egypt there was a sense of humiliation. Not since the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 had the Egyptians suffered such a humiliating blow. Egypt decided to ratchet up its sponsorship of Palestinian terror infiltrations which invited even harsher Israeli retaliatory raids such as Operation Elkayam
Operation Elkayam
Operation Elkayam also known as the Khan Yunis raid, was an Israeli military operation that targeted Egyptian military positions in the Khan Yunis area. The successful operation resulted in the destruction of Egyptian military installations as well as the deaths of seventy-two Egyptian soldiers...

 (72 Egyptian KIA
KIA
-People:* Kia Abdullah , British-Asian author and journalist* Kia Asamiya , Japanese manga artist* Kia Byers , Canadian canoeist* Kia Corthron , American playwright, activist, and television writer...

) and Operation Volcano
Operation Volcano (Israeli raid)
Operation Volcano , also known as Operation Sabcha, was a large-scale Israel Defense Force military operation carried out on the night of November 2-3, 1955 against Egyptian military positions in and around the Nitzana/Auja vicinity. The operation was successful and resulted in the permanent...

 (81 Egyptian KIA, 55 captured). Ultimately, Egyptian provocations such as terror sponsorship and the closure of the Gulf of Eilat to Israeli shipping and air traffic were factors that led to Operation Kadesh in which the Egyptian army was soundly defeated and its Fedayeen
Fedayeen
Fedayeen is a term used to describe several distinct militant groups and individuals in West Asia at different times in history. It is sometimes used colloquially to refer to suicide squads, especially those who are not bombers.-Overview:...

bases disbanded.
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