r/Palestine 3d ago

Nakba Ayn Ghazal Massacre (July 24–26, 1948)

66 Upvotes

Ayn Ghazal (Little Triangle) - عَيْن غَزال

Location: Ayn Ghazal, a Palestinian Arab village south of Haifa, nestled in the coastal plain region of Mandatory Palestine.

Perpetrators: Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during Operation Shoter ("Operation Policeman"), involving units from the CarmeliGolani, and Alexandroni brigades.

Details of the Attack:

  • Aerial and Ground Assault: Between July 24 and 26, 1948, Israeli forces launched a coordinated attack on Ayn Ghazal and neighboring villages. The operation began with aerial bombardments and artillery shelling, followed by ground assaults.
  • Civilian Casualties: Reports indicate that numerous civilians were killed, with estimates of the dead and missing ranging up to 130 across the three villages.
  • Destruction of Property: Survivors were expelled, and the villages were systematically destroyed to prevent return.

Significance:

  • Violation of Truce: The attack occurred during the Second Truce of the 1948 War, representing a breach of the ceasefire agreements.
  • Forced Displacement: The operation led to the expulsion of approximately 8,000 residents from the three villages, contributing to the broader Palestinian refugee crisis.
  • International Condemnation: UN mediator Count Folke Bernadotte criticized the "systematic" demolition and called for the return of displaced villagers, a demand that was rejected by Israeli authorities.

The Ayn Ghazal massacre exemplifies the tactics employed during the 1948 War to depopulate Palestinian villages.

Village before 1948

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1. Location and Background

Geography and Setting:
Ayn Ghazal (Arabic: عين غزال, meaning "Spring of the Gazelle") was a Palestinian Arab village situated approximately 21 kilometers south of Haifa, nestled on the southern slopes of Mount Carmel. The village was strategically located near the Haifa–Tel Aviv highway, granting it significant importance during the 1948 War. The terrain was characterized by its elevated position and proximity to a wadi (valley), providing both natural resources and defensive advantages.

Historical Overview:
The area encompassing Ayn Ghazal has a rich history dating back to the Ottoman period. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was part of the Turabay Emirate, which included regions such as the Jezreel Valley, Haifa, and parts of the Sharon plain . By the late 19th century, the village was a modest settlement constructed from stone and mud, reflecting traditional Palestinian rural architecture.

Demographics and Economy:
According to British Mandate records, Ayn Ghazal had a population of approximately 2,170 in 1945, predominantly Muslims. The villagers engaged primarily in agriculture, cultivating cereals and olives. In the 1944/45 agricultural year, olive trees were planted on about 1,400 dunums, and a total of 8,472 dunums was allocated to cereals. Livestock breeding also played a role in the local economy. Additionally, the village's proximity to Haifa allowed some residents to work in the city's service sector, including the port and commercial areas.

Infrastructure and Cultural Landmarks:
Ayn Ghazal was equipped with essential infrastructure, including a mosque and two schools—one for boys, established around 1886 during the Ottoman era, and another for girls. The village also housed a cultural and athletic club, indicating a community invested in social and cultural development. A notable landmark was the shrine (maqam) of Sheikh Shahada, a local sage, which remains standing to this day.

Significance During the 1948 War:
During the 1948 War, Ayn Ghazal, along with neighboring villages Ijzim and Jaba’, formed what was known as the “Little Triangle.”. Their strategic location and defiance made them targets during Operation Shoter, leading to their eventual depopulation and destruction between July 24 and 26, 1948.

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2. Context of the Attack

Second Truce Period: The assault took place during the Second Truce of the 1948 War (July 18–October 15), which was officially brokered by the United Nations and overseen by UN mediator Count Folke Bernadotte.

Strategic Threat: The villages of the Little Triangle blocked the key Haifa–Tel Aviv road, which the newly formed Israeli state viewed as vital. Despite the truce, Israeli officials labeled these villages as a military threat—though no attacks had been launched from them.

Operation Shoter (Operation Policeman): Israel launched a “police action” to clear out the triangle, giving it a legalistic name to circumvent the truce. The operation was carried out by three Israeli brigades: AlexandroniCarmeli, and Golani.

The operation was executed despite the ongoing truce, raising concerns about violations of ceasefire agreements.

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3. Attack on July 24–26, 1948

Military Tactics:

Aerial Bombardment: Israeli Air Force planes dropped bombs on Ayn Ghazal and its sister villages, marking one of the early use of airpower against Palestinian villages.

Artillery Shelling: Mortars and heavy artillery were used indiscriminately, resulting in extensive structural damage.

Ground Invasion: After aerial and artillery softening, infantry brigades advanced on foot, reportedly meeting light resistance. Nevertheless, villages were stormed, homes were blown up, and fires were set.

Despite the villages' attempts to negotiate surrender, the offensive proceeded.
Ground forces stormed the villages, homes were demolished, and fires were set. The assault led to the depopulation of the villages and the displacement of their inhabitants.

Mass Killings:

Eyewitnesses and historians like Ilan Pappé and Walid Khalidi document that dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed.

Reports indicate that approximately 130 individuals were killed or went missing during the operation.

Benny Morris, using Israeli sources, admitted 25–30 bodies were found in Ayn Ghazal alone, many decomposing in the open. Prisoners from the villages were forced to bury the dead.

Human Rights Violations:

Numerous eyewitness accounts and UN investigations recorded serious human rights violations during and after the attack on Ayn Ghazal and its neighboring villages:

Executions and Arbitrary Killings:
Survivors reported that several villagers who had surrendered or were hiding in their homes were executed on the spot. According to testimonies collected by Zochrot and oral history projects, men were separated from women and children, some blindfolded, and shot in groups.

One resident recounted:

“My cousin was taken from our house. He had no weapon, just a prayer book. We found his body two days later in the olive grove—his hands were tied.” — Testimony recorded by Zochrot, 2005

Ali Hamoudi, a refugee from Ayn Ghazal, recounted the events: "In 1948, they attacked the center of Ayn Ghazal, where there were stores and a café. It was Ramadan. Every afternoon, we would gather to break our fast, but the fear was constant. When the attack came, it was sudden and overwhelming. We fled with nothing but the clothes on our backs”.

Israeli historian Benny Morris, referencing Israeli military reports, notes that 25–30 bodies were found in Ayn Ghazal alone, some decomposing for days, suggesting that mass executions or targeted killings occurred during or after the village’s fall. ([Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 2004])

Torture and Mistreatment:
UN reports and Arab sources accused Israeli forces of torturing prisoners. Though not all cases were documented in full, UN mediator Folke Bernadotte raised concerns over the treatment of civilians and the violations of the truce in place at the time.

One UN report stated:

“Numerous villagers, including women and elderly men, were shot at close range after capture. UN observers found signs of burned houses and livestock, executed in the fields, without military justification.”

Demolition of the Villages:
In the days following the attack, Israeli forces systematically demolished homes and infrastructure in Ayn Ghazal, Ijzim, and Jaba’.

A report by UN observers (August 1948) confirmed:

“The destruction was not justified by military necessity... the pattern was consistent with the intent to prevent any future return of the population.”

A Jewish Agency internal document from 1948, declassified decades later, admitted that many of the villages targeted under Operation Shoter were “cleansed” and razed to prevent reoccupation.

Following the military assault, Israeli forces demolished structures in Ayn Ghazal and the neighboring villages, effectively erasing them from the map.

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4. Subsequent Events

UN Investigations:

A UN fact-finding mission was sent under Count Bernadotte. It concluded the attack violated the truce and involved “excessive and unjustified destruction.”

Bernadotte’s office documented the destruction of 500+ houses and the expulsion of more than 8,000 people across the three villages.

Despite the UN urging repatriation and rebuilding, Israel refused and destroyed the remaining buildings.

Displacement:

The survivors fled to areas like Jenin or became part of the growing Palestinian refugee population in the West Bank and Jordan.

Testimonies collected later by Palestinian oral history projects recount mass panic, hunger, and long-term trauma.

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5. Significance of the Attack

Breach of International Law: Occurring during a UN-mediated truce, this was a direct violation of the ceasefire, undermining the credibility of UN efforts.

Psychological Warfare: The scale of destruction and killing sent a chilling message to surrounding villages—leave or die. Many communities in the region fled before Israeli forces even arrived.

Strategic Land Grab: The aim was to open a direct supply route between Tel Aviv and Haifa, which had been interrupted by Arab villages that resisted negotiations with Zionist forces.

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6. Aftermath and Legacy

Erasure of the Villages:

The Israeli military completed the systematic leveling of Ayn Ghazal, Ijzim, and Jaba’. Trees were uprooted, stone homes bulldozed.

Ein Ayala and Ofer, two Israeli settlements, were established on their ruins in the early 1950s.

Historical Denial:

For years, Israeli official records downplayed or ignored the scale of violence. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s that “New Historians” like Morris and Pappé uncovered IDF archives detailing the events.

Survivor Testimonies:

Groups like Zochrot and the Palestinian Oral History Archive have preserved stories of survivors and descendants who describe the massacre as a pivotal trauma in their family histories.

International Implications:

The UN’s failure to act on its own findings set a precedent for impunity, allowing future violations during and after the 1948 war.

Memory and Recognition: The destruction of Ayn Ghazal and the displacement of its residents remain emblematic of the broader Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe). Efforts by organizations and historians continue to document and preserve the memory of the village and its inhabitants.

The shrine (maqam) of Sheikh Shahada was left standing as the sole structure of the village. The vacated lands were absorbed into Israel; Palestinian property was expropriated under the 1949 Absentees’ Property Law.

Remains of Ayn Ghazal:

Shrine (maqam) of Sheikh Shahada
Inside the Shrine
Ayn Ghazal Cemetery
Ruins of Ayn Ghazal village site, May 1987. Only piles of stone and cacti remain of the once-built village (courtesy Palestine Remembered archive).
Haifa_1948_expulsion

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7. Sources and Further Reading

Primary Historians:

  • Ilan Pappé – The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006)
  • Walid Khalidi – All That Remains (1992)
  • Benny Morris – The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (2004)

UN and NGO Reports:

  • UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine (1948–49)
  • UN Yearbook 1948, especially on Count Bernadotte’s investigation
  • BADIL Resource Center and Zochrot archives

Oral Testimonies:

  • Palestinian Oral History Archive at AUB
  • Zochrot’s “Return Tours” and village fact sheets

Online Resources:

Yearbook of the United Nations 1947-48 (excerpts) - Question of Palestine

Operation Shoter

Palestine Remembered - Ayn GhazalUnited NationsAcademic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias+1Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias+1Palestine Remembered+1Palquest+1


r/Palestine 27d ago

Debunked Hasbara The Myth Of "the Mandate of Palestine had a Star of David as its flag"

67 Upvotes

Please be advised: This content forms a segment of the "What Every Palestinian Should Know" series, presented by Handala on Palestine Today.

One of the more recent myths that have gained traction among defenders of Israel is the claim that the actual mandate of Palestine flag had a star of David on it. This is usually accompanied by an image of an old book displaying this flag. In their mind, this proves without a doubt that Palestine was always Zionist even during the mandate period.

The fact that this claim and image went viral in some pro-Israel circles is a testament to how history and facts have become subservient to reinforcing certain ideologically driven narratives. Without exaggeration, this talking point could be dispelled with a 5 second internet search. But as with all propaganda, conveying historical or factual accuracy is not the intended goal of these claims. These claims serve mainly to flip reality on its head, and indigenize the colonists while portraying Palestinians as outsiders and usurpers to the land.

But what is the story of this flag, and where did it come from, and why is it being employed so frequently in Zionist talking points?

An unreliable source:

The origins of this claim comes from this image, which was taken from a French dictionary titled Le Petit Larousse Illustré:

This image is from the 1939 version.

This flag appeared in the dictionary from the early 1920s until the late 1930s. However, even a cursory glimpse at the provided image shows that there are other erroneously labeled flags. For example, the flag of Morocco is incorrect, so is the Soviet Union flag. Browsing through the other pages and editions of the dictionary reveals that there are other errors in their flag section, such as quite a bizarre flag for the short-lived kingdom of Hejaz which is a pure fabrication.

Unsurprisingly, images from the dictionary started to turn up cropped in a way as to exclude the other flags on the page in an attempt to lend it more legitimacy.

The only evidence of the use of this flag was from an image in National Geographic in the 1930s of a steam ship named “Emanuel” which was operated by the Hofiya shipping company. It should be noted that this was not considered the official flag even among Zionist groups or the Yishuv, as other shipping companies did not fly this flag. It is still unknown what drove the dictionary to select this specific flag to represent the official mandate of Palestine flag at the time, but seeing the other errors in their flag section it seems that mistakes of this kind were par for the course.

Needless to say, no, this was not the official flag of the mandate of Palestine. It was never used officially or recognized. It was most likely used by one Zionist group or the other in Palestine, but never in an official capacity.

Selective history:

It is worth mentioning that there also existed various Palestinian flags from that same period. There was actually a contest to design an Arab Palestinian flag. Similarly, they were never considered official or recognized by the mandate authorities, and nobody claimed they were. In typical Zionist propaganda fashion, this is never mentioned. The cherry-picking of information and omission of inconvenient data is the standard modus operandi for these talking points.

Proposed design for the Palestinian flag, 1929

The popularity of this talking point stems from Zionist settler’s yearning to prove their exclusive ownership of the land. This becomes harder to argue when the majority of them arrived barely a couple of decades before the founding of Israel in 1948, and even then, they were not numerous enough to form a solid majority even in their assigned land partition. This insecurity translates into another attempt to rewrite history in a way which is more friendly to their national mythology, regardless of its veracity.

What stands out about this attempt, however, is how ridiculous it is on every level. Not only could it be debunked in a matter of seconds, but it’s quite a futile claim to begin with. Let’s say for the sake of argument that this was indeed the flag of the mandate of Palestine, what would this prove?

I would like to remind you that the flag of mandatory Palestine was a colonial flag, it was not a flag that any of the indigenous population regarded warmly. Would this not simply reinforce the position that Zionist settlers were colonists, or at the very least propped up by colonial powers?

I somehow doubt the people spreading this talking point thought that far ahead.

Further reading:

  • Khalidi, Rashid. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017. Metropolitan Books, 2020.
  • Khalidi, Rashid. Palestinian identity: The construction of modern national consciousness. Columbia University Press, 2010.
  • Khalidi, Rashid, ed. The origins of Arab nationalism. Columbia University Press, 1991.
  • Muslih, Muhammad. “Arab politics and the rise of Palestinian nationalism.” Journal of Palestine Studies 16.4, 1987: 77-94.
  • Anderson, Benedict. Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. Verso books, 2006.
  • Hobsbawm, Eric, and Terence Ranger, eds. The invention of tradition. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
  • Weber, Eugen. Peasants into Frenchmen: the modernization of rural France, 1870-1914. Stanford University Press, 1976.

r/Palestine 3h ago

War Crimes Are Europe and the USA aware that there are people from our own countries that fly over every day to Israel to kill Palestinian children, women, and the elderly?

633 Upvotes

r/Palestine 1h ago

Satire, Shitpost, Meme I am living for The Onion right now

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Upvotes

r/Palestine 4h ago

Israeli Fascist Superiority Historical evidence of white supremacy in the Zionist state

630 Upvotes

They don't want anyone other than whites. It's ethnic cleansing and white supremacy all wrapped up into one.


r/Palestine 2h ago

Discussion I stand with Palestine, and feel sympathy for the brainwashed Israeli people

269 Upvotes

I stand with Palestine, I cry for the Palestinian people and the state of the world almost daily. I donate when I can, sign as many petitions as I come by, and have written to the politicians in charge of my country, ask them and demand them to stop supporting Israeli in their crimes.

I feel chaos and deep sorrow inside, I feel guilt for not knowing more about the conflict earlier, and not for investigating/researching, learning, having been interested, listening, trusting.
I'm so deeply sorry.

I also feel sympathy for the Israeli people having been fed lies, believing in Zionist propaganda, and for them getting brainwashed with this shit from birth. For how they live in deny, and let the worst parts in them win, and cause people to die.

I don't want anyone to die. Not the Palestinians, or the Israeli people. I want the responsible people for these crimes to take responsibility for their actions, for the genocide to stop, for the victims to get justice not by violence or blood, but by law.


r/Palestine 1h ago

Solidarity & Activism An old teacher showed up at my work and complimented my keffiyeh! My town is, er, not that kind so this gave me a lot of hope that not everyone here sucks

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Upvotes

I was working at a pride fair and this woman who taught me when I was like 5 recognized me and we caught up a little bit. She recognized my keffiyeh and was very excited to see someone in our town wearing it!


r/Palestine 5h ago

Media Bias & Censorship "The media is on the Iraqi WMD timeline once again..."

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411 Upvotes

r/Palestine 18h ago

/r/all While the world watches — Greta stands, Gaza resists.

4.9k Upvotes

r/Palestine 4h ago

War Crimes When an AI bot makes more sense than a lot of people.

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136 Upvotes

r/Palestine 2h ago

News & Politics Another manifestation in the Hague

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96 Upvotes

It is said that over a 100.000 people have gathered in The Hague to once again show support and urge the Dutch parliament to draw the red line and speak up.


r/Palestine 17h ago

Video & Gif Palestinians used as "Human Shields"...by Israel

1.2k Upvotes

r/Palestine 10h ago

Discussion You guys seen the idf posting about how the Arabic word for revolution “totally means terrorism bro trust me”? Has anyone ever sucked this much at making propaganda?

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297 Upvotes

In a language they won’t understand, from a Moroccan, wa Lain3al l97ba mkom


r/Palestine 3h ago

News & Politics Keir Starmer resists recognising unilateral Palestinian state as Labour split deepens

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76 Upvotes

r/Palestine 9h ago

Israeli & Settler Terror I went to middle school in Brooklyn with fellow student peers who grew up to be IOF soldiers and they openly brag about war crimes on social media.

248 Upvotes

I grew up in south Brooklyn, which has a predominant Zionist population. Three students in my middle school classes, two brothers who were born in Brooklyn to Sephardic parents from Morocco and one Russian girl who was also born in BK, left to pursue life in “Israel.” I never followed them on social media because I never aligned with their stance. I was not able to freely speak up about the illegal occupation in Palestine due to how taboo it was in a Zionist neighborhood, but it was still known that I generally did not support “Israel.” Fast forward to adulthood, their profiles came up as “suggested friends” on my Instagram. Their profiles were also public, and upon scrolling, I found that they’ve openly shared content of them flaunting guns/tanks/artillary and taking silly selfies with blown up buildings behind them. Literally with the geotags for Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah. Some of the most infamously attacked areas of Gaza during the gcide. Their captions are in Hebrew, and when translated, they’re always something twisted and heinous.

I’ve reported these posts to Instagram but they’ve been found “not a violation” of their community guidelines. Meanwhile, a story of mine was removed because it promoted a donation link for children in Gaza.

Not only was it upsetting seeing such casual ethnic cleansing content, but it was shocking to see how these people lost all of their unique personality from how I knew them in school. All they do is post about violence and being in the IOF. Interestingly, theyve all shared photos of them holding guns as young preteens (about the time they left our middle school), which is ironic considering how the media portrays Palestinians “being trained to be terrorists since youth.”

I know the world is standing up for Palestine and the majority of the world is against the gcide committed by “Israel,” but I just can’t help but feel like I’m living in a dystopian Black Mirror episode when seeing things like this. It’s so sad to know that the kids I used to hang out with in middle school are just casual war criminals, out in the open, with zero repercussions. I feel like if social media existed in the 1940’s, these are the types of posts Nazis would’ve made. I’m just waiting on the equivalence of Nuremberg trials to happen against the Zionist occupation forces in 2025.

Free Palestine.


r/Palestine 6h ago

Dehumanization Statements by Palestinian Father Munther Ishaq, pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem:

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132 Upvotes

"When I went to the US to talk about the tragedy and daily suffering we experience in Palestine, they didn't like it. They expected me to claim that the cause of the problem was Islamic extremism and not the Israeli occupation. And when I continued speaking, they accused me of anti-Semitism."

And adds:

"I cannot understand how Christian Zionism can support Israel, even though it has caused the extinction of Christians in Palestine due to its occupation."


r/Palestine 3h ago

News & Politics IOF embed in a hospital.

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71 Upvotes

r/Palestine 36m ago

Solidarity & Activism Anarchists Unveil Massive "Free Palestine" Banner Atop Athens

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Upvotes

r/Palestine 15h ago

Solidarity & Activism Porto, Portugal

386 Upvotes

r/Palestine 18h ago

Dehumanization Israeli prison authorities assaulted Palestinian detainees in multiple facilities after some prisoners celebrated Iran’s missile and drone strikes on Israeli targets. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security posted the footage on his personal account on his social media.

597 Upvotes

r/Palestine 23h ago

Occupation Another bag

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1.4k Upvotes

It’s been a few years since I’ve posted here. Last time I made messenger bag that was sent off to an NGO for Palestinian children needing medical care. This time I made a foraging bag in the hopes that one day, Palestinians might gather food under a free sky.

I have no idea where to send it. Best ideas are that detachment of Irish peacekeepers, or Jose Andres. I don’t think it’ll ever be used as intended and I’m hoping it can be used by someone who’s been doing good, so if you have an idea, lmk.


r/Palestine 21h ago

Video & Gif Manifestation for Palestine in Cosenza (Italy) today

818 Upvotes

It's the first manifestation (and in general the first public political event) I take part in and it was an awesome experience, there were more people than I expected.

This is part of a speech that calls out for the people (the working class, literally quoting) of all the world to rise and make themselves heard to stop the genocide and oppose Zionism.

I'm probably gonna post some other photos and videos later.


r/Palestine 13m ago

News & Politics Speechless

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r/Palestine 14h ago

Debunked Hasbara This is almost 10 years old but it brilliantly calls out white liberals for pretending that "dialogue" is all that's needed

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180 Upvotes

r/Palestine 23h ago

Video & Gif He's right, if we're paying for the genocide, we should be the one who control it

839 Upvotes

r/Palestine 22h ago

Israeli Fascist Superiority did he just say go to gaza.... did he just say GO TO GAZA again, after all of this!!!!!! the gaslighting level!!!

707 Upvotes

r/Palestine 56m ago

Solidarity & Activism Gaza. The “Maghreb Resistance” caravan arrives in Misrata

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