This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.The Battles of Negba were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian army in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Negba, a kibbutz founded in 1939, had a strategic position overlooking the Majdal – Bayt Jibrin road, and was a target of two major assaults by the Egyptians in June and July 1948.

On June 2, the Egyptians attacked the village from the south with a battalion reinforced with armor, artillery, and aircraft, and were beaten back by 140 defenders, who were assisted by motorized Negev Brigade forces.

The second attack took place on July 12, when the Egyptians staged diversionary assaults on nearby positions and surrounded Negba from all sides, again with a reinforced battalion.

From there, forces were sent north to Isdud, reaching it on May 29, and to Bayt Jibrin through Fallujah on June 1, cutting a wedge between Israeli-held northern Negev and the rest of Israel.

A road passed from north to south in the village, but the Israelis left only the northern approach open, which was also close to an airplane landing strip.

[3][4] On May 12, 1948, even before Egypt's invasion, Egyptian volunteer units from the Muslim Brotherhood, which was backing the campaign in Palestine, took control of the Iraq Suwaydan police fort following the British withdrawal.

[7] The Egyptians continued to harass Negba in the following days, and the Givati Brigade decided to send two platoons from its 53rd Battalion, as well as mortars, as reinforcements.

[4] On the day of the Egyptian attack on June 2, the Israeli forces in Negba numbered about 70 Givati Brigade soldiers and 70 village residents (including 10 women).

[9][10] Unlike the previous battle, the Egyptians made good on their plans to surround the village, in order to prevent outside Israeli intervention.

At night after their retreat, Egyptian forces tried to pull it back to their own lines, but an Israeli sapper had managed to mine the tank's surroundings.

[12] After July 12, the Egyptians did not attack Negba again, but made an attempt to surround it by sending a Sudanese company to capture Hill 105 to the north.

[13] Israel subsequently used Negba as a base for future operations in an attempt to cut through the Egyptian lines and link up with the Israeli-held enclave in the northern Negev.

[10] A monument to commemorate the Israeli fallen, by sculptor Nathan Rapoport, was erected at the military cemetery in the village, at the request of Yisrael Barzilai.

It symbolizes a will for defense, the work toward a better future, and the IDF's supply shortage, shown by the fact that the soldier isn't wearing a helmet.