**Operation Makkabi** was a military operation carried out by Haganah forces in May 1948, during the Nakba and the occupation of Palestine in 1948. Its main objective was to expand control over the **Jaffa–Jerusalem road** and the strategic positions surrounding **Bab al-Wad and al-Latrun**, after the Haganah had failed to secure lasting control of the route during Operation Nachshon.
The operation began on **8 May 1948** and involved forces from the **Harel, Giv'ati, and Sheva' (Seventh) Brigades**. The **Palmach's Harel Brigade** played a particularly important role in the Jerusalem hills sector. The fighting involved a number of Palestinian villages and strategic positions located along both sides of the road leading to Jerusalem.
