Atlas of Battles

battle, Cold War

Battle of Rafah

Battle of Rafah was a battle fought on 3 January 1949 at Rafah, in what is now Palestine; it lasted 5 days. It was part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, which ran from 1948 to 1949. The recorded result: Inconclusive; 1949 Armistice Agreements.

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Fought3 January 1949lasted 5 days
WhereRafah, Palestine31.226N, 34.217E
OutcomeInconclusive; 1949 Armistice Agreements
BelligerentsIsraelagainstEgypt
Part of1948 Arab–Israeli War1948 to 1949

Where it sits in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Battles of Kfar Darom, 1947Operation Danny, 1948Battles of the Kinarot Valley, 1948Battle of Jenin, 1948Operation Death to the Invader, 1948Battle of Yad Mordechai, 1948Operation Shoter, 1948Battle of Hill 86, 1948Battle of Gesher, 1948Battle of Nirim, 1948Bombing of Tel Aviv in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, 1948Battles of Latrun, 1948Operation Pleshet, 1948Battle of Qaqun (1948), 1948Battles of Malkia, 1948Battle of Nitzanim, 1948Battles of Negba, 1948Bombardment of Cairo, 1948Battle of Be'erot Yitzhak, 1948Battles of the Separation Corridor, 1948Battle of Beersheba, 1948Operation Shmone, 1948Operation Horev, 1948Battle of 'Auja, 1948Battles of the Sinai, 1948Battle of Rafah, 1949British-Israeli Air Incident, 1949Operation Uvda, 194919471949Battle of Rafah, 1949
32 placed engagements of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date3 January 1949
to 8 January 1949
PlaceRafah, Palestine
31.226N, 34.217E
KindBattle, Cold War
Commanders
  • David Ben-Gurion
  • David Elazar
  • Yigal Allon
  • Farouk of Egypt
  • Ibrahim Abdel Hady Pasha
Battle of RafahBattle of RafahBattle of RafaBattle of RaphiaBattle of NirimBattle of Hill 86Battle of the JiradiBattle of Hill 86Battle of the JiradiTel AvivAmmanJerusalemGaza CityNablusAl KarakRamlaMa'an100 km31.226N, 34.217E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 217 BC and 1949.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1949

Battle of Rafah is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 49 in present-day Palestine.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4872154, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Rafah (1949), revision 1370272615, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.