Deir Yassin Massacre

Deir Yassin massacre
Part of 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine and the 1948 Palestinian exodus
Deir Yassin today, part of the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, an Israeli psychiatric hospital
Location	Deir Yassin, Mandatory Palestine (now Israel)
Date	April 9, 1948
Target	Arab villagers
Weapons	Firearms and grenades
Deaths	107 villagers and 4 Jewish militiamen
Non-fatal injuries	12 villagers and 35 Jewish militiamen
Perpetrators	Irgun and Lehi
Number of participants	Around 120 Jewish militiamen
Defenders	Villagers

The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi attacked Deir Yassin, a Palestinian Arab village of roughly 600 people near Jerusalem. The assault occurred as Jewish militia sought to relieve the blockade of Jerusalem during the civil war that preceded the end of British rule in Palestine.

According to Irgun sources, the village guards felt surprised by "the Jews" entering their village at night and opened fire on the Irgun force. The village fell after fierce house-to-house fighting. During and after the battle for the village, at least 107 Palestinians were killed, including women and children—some were shot, while others died when hand grenades were thrown into their homes. Despite an original boast by the victors that 254 had been killed, Aref al-Aref counted 117 victims, 7 in combat, and the rest in their homes.According to a count conducted by International Red Cross representative Jacques de Reynier, apart from bodies left lying in the streets, 150 corpses were found in one cistern alone, among them people who had been either decapitated or disemboweled. Several villagers were taken prisoner and may have been killed after being paraded through the streets of West Jerusalem. Morris wrote that there were also cases of mutilation and rape. Four of the attackers were killed, with around 35 injured.

The killings were condemned by the leadership of the Haganah—the Jewish community's main paramilitary force—and by the area's two chief rabbis. The Jewish Agency for Israel sent Jordan's King Abdullah a letter of apology, which he rebuffed. Abdullah held the Jewish Agency responsible for the massacre, because they were the head of Jewish affairs in Palestine. He warned about "terrible consequences" if more incidents like that occurred.