Operation חורב ḤOREV ended with a ceasefire.

דוד בן-גוריון DAVID BEN-GURION recorded יגאל ידין YIGAEL YADIN’s report that the cessation order had been issued for 14:00. Evening reports described continuing fighting. Yadin suspected that soldiers of צה״ל ẒAHAL might also have continued firing despite receiving the order. These are contemporary reports and a recorded suspicion, not final observer findings about each position or shell.³

That evidence prevents assigning every violation automatically to the army of the Kingdom of Egypt. It does not establish equal responsibility or cancel the Egyptian attacks reported to headquarters. Precise findings require transmission records, unit logs, and United Nations observer investigations. The רפיח RAFIAḤ study keeps the failed attack, later positions, and casualty dates distinct.

At Rhodes later in January, representatives signed a confirmation of the earlier cessation of fire. Its opening clause states:

The general cease-fire agreement between the two parties which became effective on 7 January 1949 at 1200 GMT is hereby formally confirmed as a complete and enduring cease-fire between all elements of our military or para-military forces—land, sea and air—wherever located.⁴

The text covers land, sea, and air forces. Its fourth clause also restricts civilian movement between the two sides. That later written condition does not by itself establish when restrictions first operated, how particular people had left their homes, or whether specific returning residents were refused entry.⁵

The government had to weigh tactical opportunities against diplomacy, the risk of confrontation with the United Kingdom, and the lives of soldiers and civilians. David Tal’s account shows that the road junction remained difficult to seize even as pressure on Egyptian supply routes increased. Ending the campaign preserved a route to direct negotiations; it did not settle the permanent frontier or eliminate disputes over battlefield positions.⁶

The Egyptian armistice agreement followed later. The January 12 Rhodes arrivals and subsequent joint meetings were stages leading toward it. Reports of continued fire and later border-position withdrawal require their own chronology rather than being erased by the formal end date.

Clause 1 of S/1225 confirms January 7, 1949 at noon GMT; the diary records the 14:00 local order. This is before sunset on ו׳ בטבת ה׳תש״ט 6th 𝑜𝑓 Tevet, AM 5709. January 24 dates the signed confirmation and January 25 its transmission. The article dates the designated cessation and campaign end, not the final minute of every exchange of fire.^{7 8}

• What would settle responsibility for fire reported after the designated cessation hour?
• Why cannot a later civilian-crossing clause establish each earlier departure or denial of return?