The Italian bombing of Palestine in World War II was part of an effort by the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) to strike at the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations wherever possible in the Middle East.
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On 10 June 1940, the Kingdom of Italy declared war on the French Republic and the United Kingdom. During the Battle for France, the French had already been beaten by the Germans by the time Italy joined the war. The Italian invasion of France was short-lived and the French signed an armistice with the Italians on 25 June. This left the British and the forces of the Commonwealth of Nations for the Italians to contend with in the Middle East.
Starting in July 1940, the Italian bombings in the British Mandate of Palestine were primarily centered on Tel Aviv and Haifa. However, many other coastal towns such as Acre and Jaffa also suffered.[1][2]
The 29 July 1940 issue of Time Magazine reported a bombing at Haifa during the previous week. According to Time Magazine, the Italians claimed a success which the British did not deny. Where the British oil pipeline from Mosul reaches tidewater, "Ten big Italian bombers, flying at great altitude from the Dodecanese Islands, giving the British bases at Cyprus a wide berth, dumped 50 bombs on the Haifa oil terminal and refinery." The bombing started fires which burned for days afterward. British pursuit fighters from a base on Mt. Carmel were too late to overtake the Italians.[3]
On 9 September 1940, a bombing raid on Tel Aviv caused 137 deaths.[4]