Operation Avak

Operation Avak (Hebrew: מִבְצָע אָבָק‎, "Operation Dust") was a logistical and military operation conducted during the second truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and later by the Israeli Air Force (IAF). Its objective was to send supplies to the Israeli enclave in the northwestern Negev desert by air, and create a suitable airfield for this purpose. The operation commenced on August 23, 1948, when the first aircraft landed at a newly created field in Ruhama (raising much dust, giving a name to the operation), and lasted until October 21, when a land corridor was created between the Negev and the rest of Israel.

A total of 417 flights were made during the operation, transporting 2,235 tons of supplies and 1,911 people to the Negev, and evacuating 5,098 people. Initially, Douglas C-54 Skymasters, Lockheed Constellations and Curtiss C-46 Commandos were used, but later, the IAF also made use of Douglas Dakotas and Noorduyn Norsemans. The main military obstacle was a seesaw battle with the Egyptian army at Khirbet Mahaz, lasting between September 29 and October 6.

As a response to the Morrison–Grady Plan of 1946, the Jewish Yishuv decided to erect 11 new villages in the northern Negev desert in order to ensure that the territory would become part of a Jewish state in any future political decision. On May 15, 1948, following Israel's declaration of independence, the armies of several Arab states invaded the new state. The Egyptian army advanced along the coastal road, stopping at the Sukreir Bridge and remaining there following Operation Pleshet, an Israeli offensive on the column near the bridge.

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