Cairo–Haifa train bombings 1948
During the 1948 Palestine war, on February 29 and again on March 31, the military coaches of the Cairo-Haifa train were mined by the Jewish militant group Lehi.
On February 29, the Lehi mined the train north of Rehovot, killing 28 British soldiers and wounding 35. No civilians were hurt. One or more bombs laid on the track were detonated from a nearby orange grove. Lehi took credit for the bombing of the British train as revenge for the Ben Yehuda Street Bombing in Jerusalem. The train was the normal daily passenger express to which four military coaches had been attached.[1][2]
On March 31, the train was mined again near Binyamina, a Jewish town near Caesarea, killing 40 persons and wounding 60. The casualties were all civilians, mostly Arabs. Although there were some soldiers on the train, none were injured. The Palestine Post and the New York Times attributed the attack to Lehi.[3][4]
Notes
References
- 'Cairo-To-Haifa Train Mined 28 British Soldiers Killed And 35 Wounded, Stern Gang Claims Responsibility For Attack', The Times, Monday, March 1, 1948; pg. 4; Issue 51008; col A.
- 'Cairo-Haifa Train Mined Again 40 Killed And 60 Wounded, Problem Of Preserving Sanctity Of Jerusalem', The Times, Thursday, April 1, 1948; pg. 4; Issue 51034; col A.
- Dana Adams Schmidt, '40 Arabs Are Slain In Mining of Train: 60 More Are Injured In Blast Near Haifa - Derailment is Laid to Stern Group', New York Times, 1 April 1948.
- '40 Arabs Killed, 60 Injured, In Train Blast', Palestine Post, April 1, 1948; page 1.
- Unknown Soldiers The Operation Book of Lehi, Yaakov Banai, 1987.