The fighting in these months was concentrated in the Jerusalem – Tel Aviv area , On 9 April , the Deir Yassin massacre and the rumours that followed it spread fear among the Palestinians . Next , the Haganah defeated local militia in Tiberias . On 21 – 22 April in Haifa , after the Haganah waged a day-and-a-half battle including psychological warfare , the Jewish National Committee was unable to offer the Palestinian council assurance that an unconditional surrender would proceed without incident . Finally , Irgun under Menachim Begin fired mortars on the infrastructure in Jaffa . Combined with the fear inspired by Deir Yassin , each of these military actions resulted in panicked Palestinian evacuations
Deir Yassin massacre
Deir Yassin massacre
1948 Palestinian exodus