Ad Halom

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Ad Halom (עד הלום) is an area around the eastern entrance to the city of Ashdod, Israel.

1 The Combat
2 The Monument
3 The Bridge
4 The Railway Station

[edit] The Combat

Ad Halom (Hebrew: עד הלום‎) means 'until here', as this was the closest point to Tel Aviv that the Egyptian army advanced in 1948 Arab-Israeli War; the subsequent battle here stopped the Egyptian offensive. The Givati brigade exploded the bridge over the Lachish River and defended over the river bank from a pillbox. The Egyptian forces were driven away in Operation Yoav. The pillbox and defensive wall are remain as memorials of the events.

[edit] The Monument

As part of Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt a monument in the memory of the fallen Egyptian soldiers was established. It was compensation for the abandonment of Israeli obelisks in the Sinai peninsula. The inscriptions on the four edges are in Hebrew, Arabic, English and hieroglyphs.

[edit] The Bridge

The Ad Halom bridge was built in the beginning of the 19th century by Turkish governors above the Lachish River. After Independence War the bridge was reconstructed and upgraded. Today the four lane Highway 4 crosses the bridge.

[edit] The Railway Station

The Israel Railways started to operate a passenger line to Ashdod in the mid 1990's.

The new Railway station terminal was established in 2004. In 2005 the line was extended to Ashqelon.

The short distance between tha railway and poor planning of the Ad Halom junction on Highway 4 cause traffic jams. The new traffic interchange is planned to be built in the near future which is intended to solve the problem.