Umm Rashrash

The last operation in the War of Independence - the conquest of Umm Rashrash (Eilat) and the southern Negev - symbolizes the military and political daring of a state under construction and the vision of settlement in the Negev.

In early 1949, as part of Operation Ovda, soldiers of the Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade fought in the Jordanian Legion and after four days of struggle opened the road to Eilat. The liberators of Eilat arrived at the British police station in Um Rashrash, which was located in five clay huts - and raised the historic "ink flag."

The occupation of Umm Rashrash represented the final stage of the War of Independence. The site was declared a national site on 19 January 1994. The Umm Rashrash hut, the only hut that remains, symbolizes the early days of the city of Eilat and next to it was erected a monument that reconstructs the status of the "ink flag" hoist.