1948 Arab–Israeli War

The day after Israel declared independence, five Arab nations launched a military attack on the new state.

For Israel, the war became a war of independence.

The war ended in 1949 with a ceasefire. By then, Israel had gained control over most of Palestine.

According to the ceasefire agreement:

Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip,

Jordan took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem,

Israel retained control of West Jerusalem.

Immediately after the declaration of Israel, about 750,000 Palestinian Arabs were either forced to flee or were expelled from their homes.

Jews settled in their abandoned homes.

These displaced Palestinians became refugees.

This event is known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe.”

In the following years, thousands of Jews from Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa migrated to Israel.