Operation Harel

Operation Harel (מבצע הראל) was a 1948 IDF operation that was conducted by the Palmach. Its two objectives were to bring food and supplies to besieged Jerusalem, and to transport troops near the city. The operation took place between 16 and 21 April as a continuation to Operation Nachshon and was commanded by Yitzhak Rabin. It brought three convoys of over 600 trucks. It also resulted in the formation of Palmach battalions into the Harel Brigade. The supplying of Jerusalem with food, medicine, arms, and fuel, enabled the city to withstand the siege, a siege which continued for the next two months, until the opening of the Burma Road in mid-June.

According to combatant and, later, Brigade commander, Joseph Tabenkin, "[Operation] Harel extended the corridor to Jerusalem towards the south, in the mountainous area as far as Nahal Sorek. In the lower region, it had taken the mountain range, extending its reach as far as Nahal Sorek in the lowlands, and opened the train route to the entrance of the mountains."