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Documents Reveal Israeli Army Poisoned Water Wells in Palestinian Towns During 1948 War

A group of Israeli hikers walk on the hills near the Jordan River where the steam pours into the Dead Sea, near the West Bank city of Jericho, on October 14, 2022. (AFP)
A group of Israeli hikers walk on the hills near the Jordan River where the steam pours into the Dead Sea, near the West Bank city of Jericho, on October 14, 2022. (AFP)
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Documents Reveal Israeli Army Poisoned Water Wells in Palestinian Towns During 1948 War

A group of Israeli hikers walk on the hills near the Jordan River where the steam pours into the Dead Sea, near the West Bank city of Jericho, on October 14, 2022. (AFP)
A group of Israeli hikers walk on the hills near the Jordan River where the steam pours into the Dead Sea, near the West Bank city of Jericho, on October 14, 2022. (AFP)

The Israeli army used chemical and biological weapons during the 1948 war, including poisoning water wells in several Palestinian towns, original documents stored in the Israel State Archive, as well as other archives revealed.

The documents showed that Israeli political and military leaders and some scholars were partners in the decision, and had even planned to poison the waters in Cairo and Beirut, but changed their mind at the last minute.

Haaretz reporter Ofer Aderet wrote on Friday that the poisoning was partially exposed decades ago by Arab sources when rumors and oral testimonies were reported in newspapers and books about an attempt by the army in 1948 to poison wells in Acre and Gaza by adding bacteria to the drinking water.

However, the details of Israel’s secret use of biological weapons and poison against Palestinians during the 1948 war was revealed in a recent article by historians Benny Morris and Benjamin Kedar.

Published by Middle Eastern Studies, Morris and Kedar’s research is a rarity because it was researched and published against the wishes of the Israeli security establishment, which has tried for years to block any embarrassing historical documents that expose war crimes against Arabs, such as murdering prisoners, ethnic cleansing and destroying villages, Haaretz wrote.

The poisoning targeted dozens of Palestinian water wells, including the Acre and the Galilee village of Ilabun in the north.

Aderet wrote that the plan was to poison wells in abandoned Arab villages, as well as in Jewish locales that were due to be evacuated by the state-in-the-making.

The goal wasn’t mass poisoning, but rather an act of deterrence that would prevent Palestinians from returning to areas where the water is poisonous.

Morris and Kedar said that the substance used in the poisoning was causing mass infections of dysentery and typhoid, adding that such diseases spread in Acre.

The poisoning started on April 1, 1948 with the knowledge and supervision of several officials, including then Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, the documents revealed.

The two researchers also said some Israelis objected against the poisoning, most notably archaeologist Shmarya Gutman, who in 1988 testimonies, said he vehemently opposed the operation on moral grounds and warned that poisoning the water could also harm Jews.

As for Beirut and Cairo, Morris and Kedar revealed that the plan aimed to poison their waters in retaliation against the Arab armies that tried to invade the country to expel the Jews.

However, the Israeli operatives who would be tasked with traveling to both capitals received sudden orders to stop the operation.

Apparently, the operation was exposed in May 1948 when Egyptian authorities arrested in Gaza two Israeli soldiers, posing as Arabs, with tubes containing typhoid germs in their possession.

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Arab World

Türkiye’s Erdogan Says Discusses Syria, Gaza with Trump in 'Very Good' Call

US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye’s Erdogan Says Discusses Syria, Gaza with Trump in 'Very Good' Call

US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed developments in Syria and Gaza in a call with US President Donald Trump, his office said on Wednesday, as Syria's ​Türkiye-backed government announced a ceasefire with US-allied Kurdish forces after days of clashes.

Syria's government this week seized swathes of territory in the northeast and gave the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces four days to agree on integrating into the central state.

The SDF's main ally, the United States, said in a statement that the partnership with the group had changed nature after Syria's ‌new government ‌emerged and urged the group to ‌accept.

"During ⁠the ​call, President ‌Erdogan stated that Türkiye was closely following developments in Syria, that Syria's unity, harmony and territorial integrity were important for Türkiye," the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

It added that Erdogan and Trump also discussed the battle with ISIS and "the situation of the ISIS prisoners in the Syrian prisons".

Türkiye deems the SDF a ⁠terrorist organization linked with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has carried out a ‌four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state.

Ankara ‍has been engaged in a ‍peace process with the PKK, under which it says the ‍militant group - and its extensions - must disband and disarm.

Ankara, the main foreign backer of Syria's new government, has praised Damascus' advances against the SDF and repeatedly demanded that the group disband, disarm, and integrate into ​the Syrian state apparatus.

"Our President said that a Syria that is developing with all of its elements, is ⁠rid of terror and in peace will contribute to the region's stability," Erdogan's office said.

The two presidents also discussed developments in Gaza, it said, adding Erdogan told Trump that Türkiye would continue to work in coordination with its NATO ally the United States to achieve peace there.

Erdogan thanked Trump for inviting him to join the Board of Peace, it added.

Trump said earlier on Tuesday that he had a "very good call" with Erdogan, without elaborating, after having told reporters during a briefing prior to the meeting that the ‌discussions were going to be "very important".

Arab World

Syria Gives Kurds Four Days to Accept Integration as US Signals End of Support

A member of the Syrian army stands guard on the road towards Al-Hasakah, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Syria, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
A member of the Syrian army stands guard on the road towards Al-Hasakah, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Syria, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
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Syria Gives Kurds Four Days to Accept Integration as US Signals End of Support

A member of the Syrian army stands guard on the road towards Al-Hasakah, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Syria, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
A member of the Syrian army stands guard on the road towards Al-Hasakah, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Syria, January 20, 2026. (Reuters)

Syria's government set a four-day deadline on Tuesday for Kurdish-led forces to agree on integrating their last enclave into the central state as their former main ally, the United States, urged them to do so.

US envoy Tom Barrack in a social media post described integration as the "greatest opportunity" ‌the Kurds ‌now have in Syria.

He added that ‌the ⁠original purpose ‌of the Syrian Democratic Forces as a counterweight to ISIS militants had largely expired, and that the US had no long-term interest in retaining its presence in Syria, signaling the apparent end of Washington's backing.

The SDF, which has lost swathes of territory during government advances in ⁠recent days, said it accepted a ceasefire agreement with the Damascus government ‌and that it would not engage ‍in any military action ‍unless attacked.

A Syrian government statement said it had ‍reached an understanding with the SDF, long backed by the United States in the battle against ISIS, for it to devise an integration plan for Hasakah province or risk state forces entering two SDF-controlled cities.

The government announced a four-day ceasefire and said it had asked ⁠the SDF to submit the name of a candidate to take the role of assistant to the defense minister in Damascus as part of the integration.

The swift reversal for the SDF along one of Syria's main faultlines marks the biggest shift in territorial control in Syria since Sharaa toppled President Bashar al-Assad in 2024 and raises questions over the security of facilities holding ISIS detainees.

Arab World

Israel Orders Gaza Families to Move in First Forced Evacuation Since Ceasefire

A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Orders Gaza Families to Move in First Forced Evacuation Since Ceasefire

A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian girl walks past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli forces have ordered dozens of Palestinian families in the southern Gaza Strip to leave their homes in the first forced evacuation since October's ceasefire, as residents and Hamas said on Tuesday the military was ​expanding the area under its control.

Residents of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, said the leaflets were dropped on Monday on families living in tent encampments in the Al-Reqeb neighborhood.

“Urgent message. The area is under Israeli army control. You must evacuate immediately,” said the leaflets, written in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, which the army dropped over the Al-Reqeb neighborhood in the town of Bani Suhaila.

In the two-year war before the US brokered ceasefire was signed in October, Israel dropped leaflets over areas that were subsequently raided or bombarded, forcing some families to move several times.

Residents and a source from the Hamas group said this was the first time they had been ‌dropped since then. ‌The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SIDES FAR ‌APART ⁠ON ​NEXT PHASES

The ‌ceasefire has not progressed beyond its first phase, under which major fighting has stopped, Israel withdrew from less than half of Gaza, and Hamas released hostages in return for Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

Virtually the entire population of more than 2 million people are confined to around a third of Gaza's territory, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, where life has resumed under control of an administration led by Hamas.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the ceasefire and remain far apart on the more difficult steps planned for the next phase.

Mahmoud, a resident from the ⁠Bani Suhaila area, who asked not to give his family name, said the evacuation orders impacted at least 70 families, living in tents and homes, ‌some of which were partially damaged, in the area.

"We have fled ‍the area and relocated westward. It is maybe the ‍fourth or fifth time the occupation expanded the yellow line since last month," he told Reuters by phone ‍from Khan Younis, referring to the line behind which Israel has withdrawn.

"Each time they move it around 120 to 150 meters (yards) inside the Palestinian-controlled territory, swallowing more land," the father-of-three said.

HAMAS CITES STATE OF HUMANITARIAN DISRUPTION

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said the Israeli military had expanded the area under its control in eastern Khan Younis five times since ​the ceasefire, forcing the displacement of at least 9,000 people.

“On Monday, 19 January 2026, the Israeli occupation forces dropped warning leaflets demanding the forced evacuation of the Bani Suhaila area in eastern ⁠Khan Younis Governorate, in a measure that falls within a policy of intimidation and pressure on civilians,” Thawabta told Reuters.

He said the new evacuation orders affected approximately 3,000 people.

“The move created a state of humanitarian disruption, increased pressure on the already limited shelter areas, and further deepened the internal displacement crisis in the governorate,” Thawabta added.

Israel's military has previously said it has opened fire after identifying what it called "terrorists" crossing the yellow line and approaching its troops, posing an immediate threat to them.

It has continued to conduct air strikes and targeted operations across Gaza. The Israeli military has said it views "with utmost severity" any attempts by militant groups in Gaza to attack Israel.

Under future phases of the ceasefire that have yet to be hammered out, US President Donald Trump's plan envisages Hamas disarming, Israel pulling out further, and an internationally backed administration rebuilding Gaza.

More than 460 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took ‌effect.

Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the enclave.