The Egyptian garrison began its supervised withdrawal from الفالوجة AL-FALUJA, while civilian protections remained a separate obligation.

What began under supervision?

The withdrawal study compares the treaty’s February 26 morning schedule with Bunche’s later confirmation of the actual כ״ז בשבט ה׳תש״ט 27th 𝑜𝑓 Ŝʾvat, AM 5709–כ״ט בשבט ה׳תש״ט 29th 𝑜𝑓 Ŝʾvat, AM 5709 operation. It was a military evacuation, not the completed departure of every civilian.12

What did the ICRC catalog record?

The catalog dates V-P-PS-N-00035-628 to February 26 and describes preparations for approximately 4,000 men. Bunche later gives 2,900 military personnel. These estimates are not added, and the catalog’s November 14 medicine delivery belongs to an earlier event. The photograph itself was not independently examined.3

Could civilians remain?

The guarantees allowed residents of الفالوجة AL-FALUJA and عراق المنشية ʿIRAQ AL-MANSHIYYA to stay. Military supervision does not establish freedom from subsequent coercion. No casualty roster or new death total is established by these withdrawal records.4

How is this dated?

This is Day 455 of the 599-day civil-date series, 1949-02-26. The date register’s fixed-Hebrew daytime conversion is כ״ז בשבט ה׳תש״ט 27th 𝑜𝑓 Ŝʾvat, AM 5709; after sunset it is כ״ח בשבט ה׳תש״ט 28th 𝑜𝑓 Ŝʾvat, AM 5709. The treaty fixes a morning schedule and Bunche explicitly confirms February 26 as the actual starting day. The route identifies this daily account; it does not assign every earlier occurrence, evening event or reported total to its daytime Hebrew date.5

Guided reflections

  • Why must a withdrawing garrison remain distinct from the civilians living alongside it?
  • What evidence establishes whether the permission to remain was effective?

Footnotes

  1. United Nations, Egyptian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, Article III;Annex I. ↩
  2. Ralph Bunche, S/1269, Operation dates. ↩
  3. ICRC, V-P-PS-N-00035-628, Date, Frenchdescription and recalled earlier delivery. ↩
  4. Eytan–Bunche civilian-guarantees letters, Letters III–IV. ↩
  5. Ralph Bunche, S/1269, Dated source and passage identified above. ↩

Works cited

  1. United Nations. General Armistice Agreement, signed February 24, 1949, Rhodes. S/1264/Corr.1, corrected text and dated morning notification. Official hosted English text inspected; original signature images not compared. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-186096/. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  2. Bunche, Ralph. Cablegram dated March 1, 1949, S/1269. Military withdrawal February 26–28 and separate civilian transport. Official English HTML inspected. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-211653/. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  3. International Committee of the Red Cross. Photograph catalog reference V-P-PS-N-00035-628, February 26, 1949. French description of withdrawal preparations and earlier medical delivery. Metadata inspected; photograph itself not independently viewed. Current catalog states restrictions on responding to requests during structural changes. https://avarchives.icrc.org/Picture/48928. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  4. Bunche, Ralph, and Walter Eytan. Armistice accompanying letters III–IV, Rhodes, February 24, 1949. English transcription hosted by HistoryCentral compared with the already catalogued UN Treaty Series witness, volume 42, no. 654, printed pp. 280 and 282; original signature images uncollated. https://www.historycentral.com/Israel/Documents/ISRAELEGYPTARMISTICE.html. Accessed October 11, 2026.