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The Beit Hanoun wedge (, ''Triz Beit Hanun'') was a sliver of land around Beit Hanoun (today in the Gaza Strip) that the Israel Defense Forces captured during Operation Yoav in the final stage of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. With this and other wedges, the Israelis hoped to divide various units in the Egyptian army's expeditionary force in Palestine as part of Operation Yoav's plan. The battles around the wedge were fought on October 15–22, 1948. Creating the wedge involved the capture of a series of positions overlooking Beit Hanoun (October 15–19), and eventually taking the village itself (October 20–22). The Israelis deployed a reinforced battalion from the Yiftach Brigade for the operation, with another battalion in the reserve. On the first day, eight outlying positions were captured with little resistance, and bridges surrounding Beit Hanoun were blown up. The Egyptians created a bypass to the west of the road and managed to evacuate their staff. The Israelis captured Beit Hanoun on October 19–20 and more outlying positions, which forced Egypt to move their forces through the sands between the road and the Mediterranean Sea. The Beit Hanoun wedge as a tactic was unsuccessful, because the objective of dividing the Egyptian expeditionary force was not achieved, but it accomplished other strategic goals in Operation Yoav. ==Background== The second truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War started on July 18, 1948, with an Israeli enclave in the Negev disconnected from the rest of the country. Military operations, including An-Far, Death to the Invader and GYS, to create a corridor between the two areas, failed.〔 The United Nations mediator Folke Bernadotte's second plan for Palestine became known on September 20, days after Bernadotte was assassinated by the Lehi. This plan envisioned the Israeli Negev enclave to be handed over to the Arab side.〔 Israel's military options were pondered by its leadership during the second truce, and the Bernadotte Plan prompted the government and army to decide to concentrate the next effort on the southern front. The Operation, codenamed The Ten Plagues, was meant to open a permanent ground connection to the Negev, and gradually encircle the Egyptian forces in the Majdal – Bayt Jibrin corridor by creating wedges that would deny the Egyptians free movements between their main troop concentrations.〔 This was the approach favored by Yigal Allon, head of the Southern Command, which mostly won over the General Staff's proposals to directly assault the large Egyptian concentrations.〔 The Yiftach Brigade, which previously had participated in Operation GYS but was not native to the Negev theater, was an integral part of the operation, and already infiltrated the area in Operation Avak during the second truce. Forces from the 8th and 9th brigades (the IDF's operational reserve) were also brought in to assist.〔〔 Beit Hanoun was a Palestinian Arab village in southwestern Palestine, just northeast of Gaza, located on the coastal road. Its vicinity was selected as one of the three main wedge locations, the others being Khirbet Masara, southeast of Iraq al-Manshiyya, and Kawkaba.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Beit Hanoun wedge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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