It was situated on flat ground on the coastal plain at an elevation of 75 meters (246 ft) above sea level, and bordered by a wadi that bore its name on its eastern side.

[6] 12 century Crusader church endowments and land deeds mention Latin settlement in the village, calling it Hebde.

The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3 % on various products, including wheat, barley, sesame, fruits, vineyards, beehives, and goats; a total of 8,100 akçe.

[16] The daily Palestinian newspaper Filastin reported in mid-February 1948, that Israeli forces arrived at Ibdis in three large vehicles on the evening of February 17.

[17] On July 8, as the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War was about to end, Israel's Givati Brigade moved on the southern front to link up with Israeli forces in the Negev.

The Third Battalion of the brigade attacked the village at night, resulting in a 'long battle" with two companies of the Egyptian Army stationed there.

According to the Haganah, the second Israeli victory at Ibdis was a turning point in the Givati advance, since onwards the brigade's forces did not withdraw from a single position until the end of the war.

Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was a junior officer on this front recalled "On the first day of the truce the enemy [Israeli forces] moved against the Arab village of 'Ibdis which interpenetrated our lines".