Egyptian forces attacked בארות יצחק BE’EROT YIZHAK.

This was the wartime settlement near Gaza, not the community’s later site near the coastal center. The canonical location record currently maps the later settlement. The article’s battle geography is the original southern site, described in the sources as southeast of Gaza; that distinction is retained rather than allowing the present map to relocate the fighting.^{1 2}

The mothers and children had been evacuated earlier in the war. Their evacuation was not a new July 15 departure. The people remaining faced repeated bombardment and the defense of their community’s physical foundations.

The heritage account starts the bombardment at 06:00, while the KKL history gives 05:30. Both place the opening on July 15 morning. The water tower was struck, flooding trenches, damaging ammunition and severing communications. Egyptian troops penetrated part of the perimeter; resistance continued from inner positions. These accounts provide a sequence, though the exact time difference remains unreconciled.^{3 4}

A later account reproduced from historian Aryeh Yizhaki describes the relief force finding a shattered settlement. It reports:

ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ:

ביישוב מצאו 17 הרוגים ו-15 פצועים⁵

TJD translation:

ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:

In the settlement they found 17 dead and 15 wounded.

This supports one published casualty accounting. The battle-site page instead gives 17 dead and 12 wounded. The shared fatality figure is consistent across these histories; the wounded counts still require a nominal roster.

A force from the 9th Battalion of the southern brigade brought artillery support. Its fire helped force the Egyptian withdrawal. The July 16 diary independently records that assistance had been sent to the community attacked the previous day.⁶

The enemy losses reported as about 170 dead and wounded in one history, and about 200 casualties in another, are Israeli estimates with differing totals. They are not 170 or 200 verified deaths. The defenders preserved the community against the assault at a heavy cost. Its later relocation followed the war; it was not completed on July 15.

The cited record supports 15 July 1948. Its daytime portion is ח׳ בתמוז ה׳תש״ח 8th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 5708; after local sunset it is ט׳ בתמוז ה׳תש״ח 9th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 5708. This article uses ח׳ בתמוז ה׳תש״ח 8th 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 5708. The July 16 diary’s “yesterday” independently supports July 15. The 05:30/06:00 opening discrepancy does not affect 8 Tamuz daytime; late fighting could extend into 9 Tamuz. Earlier evacuation and later relocation are separate events. ⁷

• How did damage to the water tower change the military defense?
• Why must the original battle site be distinguished from the later settlement and its current map?