Battle of Tel Hai

Battle of Tel Hai
Part of the intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine and the Franco-Syrian War
The Lion of Judah, by Avraham Melnikov - Joseph Trumpeldor's memorial in Tel Hai
Date March 1, 1920 Location Tel Hai, Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (modern-day Kfar Giladi, Israel) Result Arab victory
Belligerents
Yishuv militia	Arab Kingdom of Syria Arab Shia militia
Commanders and leaders
Joseph Trumpeldor  †	Kamal Al Hussein
Strength
Dozens	Hundreds
Casualties and losses
8 killed (including two killed in a previous probing attack)	5 killed

The Battle of Tel Hai was fought on 1 March 1920 between Arab and Jewish forces at the village of Tel Hai in Northern Galilee. In the course of the event, a Shiite Arab militia, accompanied by Bedouin from a nearby village, attacked the Jewish agricultural locality of Tel Hai. In the aftermath of the battle eight Jews and five Arabs were killed. Joseph Trumpeldor, the commander of Jewish defenders of Tel Hai, was shot in the hand and stomach, and died while being evacuated to Kfar Giladi that evening. Tel Hai was eventually abandoned by the Jews and burned by the Arab militia.

The event is perceived by some scholars as part of the Franco-Syrian War and by some as an outbreak of violence in the later developing intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine.