 The newspaper also reported that on 16 February 1948, the Haganah blew up a two-story house that was used by snipers against Ef'al.The village of Al-Khayriyya was depopulated in the weeks leading up to the 1948 Palestine war, during the Haganah's offensive "Mivtza Hametz" (Operation Hametz) 28–30 April 1948.This operation was held against a group of villages east of Jaffa, including Al-Khayriyya.