The 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade captured the hill on the night of December 22–23, but weather conditions prevented reinforcements from coming forward with essential supplies.

[3] The main thrust of the operation was planned to be in the south and east of the southern front, with the initial aim of cutting-off the eastern wing of the Egyptian army from the bulk of its forces in Palestine.

To make the task easier, the Israeli command decided to divert the Egyptians' attention by staging an assault against their main troop concentration in what today is the Gaza Strip.

[4] The attack came from the north, west and south, but was beaten back by the Israelis, who, lacking proper antitank weapons, employed the four PIATs (Projector, Infantry, Anti-tank), in their possession.

[5] The Egyptian commander of the 10th Infantry Brigade Group, Brigadier General Muhammad Naguib, who would later become the president of Egypt, was seriously injured in the chest and pronounced dead, but managed to recover.

[7] Until noon, the Egyptian infantry stayed back at a distance of about 150 metres (160 yd) or more from the hill and only the armored vehicles made direct assaults.

As the infantry began to advance, the situation of the Israeli battalion became dire; it was almost out of ammunition, most of the medics and PIAT operators had been killed or wounded, the communication devices did not work and there was no artillery support.

[4] When the Egyptians searched the body of the dead Israeli commander, they found documents pertaining to the attack, but which did not discuss it in a broader context, and this reinforced their belief that the aim was to disconnect the Gaza forces.

[8] An Egyptian officer wrote: The Israeli objective in the capture of the position was clear: to disconnect and destroy the expeditionary force in Gaza and thus repeat the tragedy of Fallujah.

[8]In Operation Horev, the Israelis went on to capture Bir 'Asluj and Auja al-Hafir, cutting off the eastern wing of the Egyptian expeditionary force, before venturing into the Sinai Peninsula, taking a number of key positions there.