The members of Israel’s government were in a bellicose mood when the truce with the Arabs was nearing its expiration. Ben-Gurion addressed the cabinet on July 11th, stating,

I would like the war to continue for at least another month because the war must end with the conquest of nebulous territories, and I believe it is possible. The war must end with the bombing of Damascus, Beirut, and Cairo so that they will no longer have the desire to fight us and will make peace with us. Regarding peace, what will happen if, at the end of the war, enmity still surrounds us, I do not know. If we do not blow up Cairo, they will think they can blow up Tel Aviv, and then we are powerless. If we bomb them, then they will respect us. I wanted it to end this way, and not by coercion by the UN in the middle of the war, which will allow the Arabs to say, 'Had not England and America intervened, we would have destroyed the Jews.' It is better if they see that this is not so.

As the truce neared its end, the Egyptians launched an attack aimed at widening their narrow supply lines along the Majdal-Beit Jibrin road. They attacked at dawn on July 8th, but their assault was repulsed. The following night, the IDF launched a counter-assault, achieving limited success. On July 12th, the Egyptians initiated their largest offensive aimed at conquering Negba, the center of Israeli defensive lines.

Wave after wave of troops attempted to conquer the Kibbutz without success. The Israeli defenders suffered five fatalities and sixteen injuries, while the Egyptians lost between two and three hundred soldiers. At that point, the initiative passed to the Israelis, who launched Operation "Death to the Invaders." Israeli troops conquered the Arab villages near Kibbutz Kfar Menachem, causing the Arab inhabitants to flee to Gaza.

In the North, the IDF rapidly conquered areas of the Galilee not under Israeli control. Most of the Druze villages and mixed Druze-Arab villages surrendered almost immediately. Nazareth, the major city, also surrendered. The Muslim residents, having heard false rumors that Jews had raped Arabs in other conquered areas, fled. Soon, the entire Galilee was in Israeli hands.

The final areas that were taken by Israel during this period were the towns of Lydda and Ramla. The Arab Legion put up no effective defense of the towns. However, once they were captured, some Legion troops returned to Lydda, and then locals began to fire on Israeli troops. The local commander then permitted the residents to leave the towns. As a result, most of the Arab residents of Ramla and Lod were forced out.