On 26 September 1948, David Ben-Gurion told his cabinet that if fighting should be renewed in the north, then the Galilee would become "clean" [naki] and "empty" [reik] of Arabs, and implied that he had been assured of this by his generals.

[11] Before dawn on 22 October ALA violated the truce when it stormed the IDF hilltop position of Sheikh Abd, overlooking kibbutz Manara from the north.

Fawzi al-Qawuqji demanded that Israel evacuate neighboring kibbutz Yiftah and thin out its forces in Manara.

Israel, in turn, demanded the ALA’s withdrawal from the captured positions and, after a "no" from Qawuqji, informed the United Nations that it felt free to do as it pleased.

"[10] On 29 October, Yosef Weitz, learning about the start of the operation, sent Yigael Yadin a note urging that the army should expel the "refugees" from the newly conquered areas.

[22][23][24][25] General Carmel had received direct permission from Prime Minister Ben-Gurion to enter Lebanon, but only as far as the river.

Fearing international condemnation, Ben-Gurion refrained from taking action, as Lebanon was neutral in the conflict.

The same day, at 7:30 in the morning, Major General Moshe Carmel ordered his brigades and district commanders "to continue the clearing operations inside the Galilee".

The siege of Manara was lifted, Qawuqji's army fled to Lebanon, and the roads crossing the Upper Galilee were secured.

With the Galilee under Israeli control, the IDF established a defensive line along the Litani before withdrawing to the Lebanese border under the terms of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.