Operation Yoav was a 1948 Israeli military operation in the Negev Desert during the Arab-Israeli War. Through the 2010 snapshot the opening said 'On October 28, 1948 soldiers from the 8th Brigade carried out a massacre at al-Dawayima.' Today the opening does not mention this, though massacre survives twice in the body. A reader arriving now learns the operation's military objectives, and not that Wikipedia's own opening once stated that soldiers carried out a massacre during it.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “refugee” appeared 3 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 4.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av ) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15 October – 22 October, 1948 in the Negev Desert , during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba – Hebron – Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon . The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubnow, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach. Dubnow, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, located in the Negev Desert. Dubnow was killed in an air raid on the kibbutz, shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.1Israeli soldiers capturing Beersheba The force consisted of three infantry brigades, the Negev Brigade , the Givati Brigade , and the Yiftach Brigade , an armored battalion from the 8th Armored Brigade and the largest artillery formation that had been available to the IDF at the time. On October 18 the Oded Brigade also joined in the operation. In the evening of October 15 the Israeli Air Force bombed Gaza , Majdal (now Ashkelon ), Beersheba and Beit Hanoun . A battalion of the Yiftach Brigade mined the railroad between El-Arish and Rafah and various roads in the Gaza area, also driving a wedge into the road. Two battalions of the Givati Brigade drove south east of Iraq al-Manshiyya , thus cutting the road between al-Faluja and Beit Jibrin . In the early morning hours of October 21, the Negev Brigade and 8th Armored Brigade attacked laid siege to the city from the west. Another force joined them from the north. Even though in the city proper, the Egyptian forces outnumbered the Israeli 500 to 60, they surrendered after being shelled by an anti-tank gun which was smuggled into the city at 08:00. The conquest of Beersheba was named Operation Moshe , after Moshe Albert, who fell defending the besieged Beit Eshel . While a truce was ordered for 15:00 hours on 22 October, action in the days immediately following the operation, and associated with it, continued. On October 28, 1948 soldiers from the 8th Brigade carried out a massacre at al-Dawayima . After the Egyptians retreated southward from Ashdod (October 28) and al-Majdal (November 6) to Gaza, the coastal strip down to Yad Mordechai was occupied by Israeli forces. On 9 November, the Suedan fortress held by Iraqi forces was captured and renamed the Yoav Fortress in honor of the operation An official from the United Nations Refugee Relief Project reported that the Gaza Strip's refugee population had jumped from 100,000 to 230,000 as a result of Operation Yoav. This figure does not include those who fled to the Hebron Hills. Battle Sites in the Land of Israel . Battle Sites in the Land of Israel . The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948", The Institute of Palestine Studies, Washington, D.C. Beard quoted in a report from the American Charge d'affaires in Cairo to the US Secretary of State.2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 364482768.
The opening as it stood in 2005
Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av ) was an Israeli military operation carried out between 15 October - 22, 1948 in the Negev Desert in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba - Hebron - Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon . The force consisted of three infantry brigades, the Negev Brigade , the Givati Brigade and the Yiftach Brigade , an armored batallion from the 8th Armored Brigade and the largest artillery formation that had ever been available to the IDF at the time. On 18 October the Oded Brigade also joined in the operation. In the evening of 15 October the Israeli Air Force bombed Gaza , Majdal and Beit Hanun . A batallion of the Yiftach Brigade mined the railroad between El-Arish and Rafah and various roads in the Gaza area. Two batallions of the Givati Brigade drove south east of Iraq El-Manshiyeh thus cutting the road between Faluja and Beit Guvrin .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 16200739.
The opening as it stood in 2015 18 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av ) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba – Hebron – Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon . The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubno, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach.Dubno, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of the kibbutzim Negba and Yad Mordechai.Dubno was killed in an air raid on Kibbutz Negba shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 634619758.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av ) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba – Hebron – Jerusalem road, and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon . The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubno, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach. Dubno, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of the kibbutzim Negba and Yad Mordechai. Dubno was killed in an air raid on Kibbutz Negba shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962518903.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
1948 Israeli military action in the Negev Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av ) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba – Hebron – Jerusalem road, and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon . The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubno, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach. Dubno, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of the kibbutzim Negba and Yad Mordechai. Dubno was killed in an air raid on Kibbutz Negba shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1136730210.
The opening as it stood in 2025
1948 Israeli military action Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av ) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba – Hebron – Jerusalem road, and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon . The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubno, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach. Dubno, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of the kibbutzim Negba and Yad Mordechai. Dubno was killed in an air raid on Kibbutz Negba shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1292094354. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“refugee” appeared 3 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 4. Read the current article and compare.
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massacre
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 2025.
Then
israeli military operation carried out between 15 october - 22
Now
israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 october 1948 in the negev desert
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
