The Israeli massacres against Palestinians began before the declaration of the State of Israel by about 11 years. During this period, Palestine was under British mandate, responsible for protecting Palestinian citizens. Zionist gangs such as Etzel, Lehi, Haganah, Palmach, and Stern committed over 57 massacres, claiming the lives of over 5,000 Palestinians and injuring thousands.
The initial massacres by these gangs occurred in Haifa on 06-03-1937, where 18 Palestinians died after a bomb explosion in the city's market. A year later, Zionist gangs escalated their criminal methods, using booby-trapped cars. In another Haifa incident, two booby-trapped cars caused the death of 21 Palestinians and injured others.
Later stages witnessed terrorist gangs using advanced weapons like artillery shells, mortars, and mortars to attack innocent Palestinians in their towns and villages. These gangs targeted public buildings and hotels. Often, they ambushed them at night, indiscriminately shooting, not sparing children, women, or the elderly. This indicated their aim to eliminate Palestinian citizens, evident in massacres like Deir Yassin, where 254 died, Beit Daras with 260 deaths, and the village of Abu Zurayq in Haifa, where most residents were killed in one night, similar to what happened in Ramla in 1948.
These gangs resorted to disguising as British forces in some massacres, using British military vehicles. They often staged scenes, such as in the Deir Yassin massacre, where Zionists threw bodies into the village well. They sometimes raped women and girls in front of village men before shooting everyone, as in the Safsaf village in Safed in 1948.
The Israeli army's role in massacres became evident on 14-05-1948, a day before the declaration of the State of Israel. The Givati Brigade, part of the Israeli army, besieged and attacked the Arab village of Abu Shusha using bullets and mortar shells, resulting in the death of 60 Palestinians and injuries.
About 2,000 Palestinians fell victim to 11 massacres carried out by Israeli army units from that date until the end of the year, in less than 7 months. Among the most atrocious was the commando-led massacre by Moshé Dayan, a prominent member of the Lehi gang who later became the Defense Minister of Israel. In what later became known as the Lydda massacre, Dayan attacked the city under heavy artillery fire, killing around 251 residents. When civilians sought refuge in the Dahmash Mosque, the invading soldiers pursued and killed 176 of them in the mosque, raising the death toll to 426. Most Zionist criminal organizations later joined the Israeli army, including Lehi and Haganah, forming the well-known Golani Brigade. Of the 57 massacres before the State of Israel's declaration, 37 occurred in 1948. Sometimes, several massacres happened on the same day, while in other instances, only a day or two separated them.