Editing Lod (section)

==History==
===Neolithic and Chalcolithic===
The first occupation was in the Neolithic period.<ref> Yannai and Marder 2000</ref><ref>Brink 1999, 2002, Brink et al. 2015</ref> Occupation continued in the Chalcolithic.<ref>Brink 1999, 2002, Brink et al. 2015</ref><ref>Paz, Rosenberg and Nativ 2005:131–154</ref><ref> Yannai and Marder 2000</ref> Pottery finds have dated the initial settlement in the area now occupied by the town to 5600–5250 BCE.<ref>Schwartz, Joshua J. ''Lod (Lydda), Israel: from its origins through the Byzantine period, 5600 B.C.-640 A.D.''. Tempus Reparatum, 1991, p. 39.</ref>

===Early Bronze===
In the Early Bronze, it was an important settlement in the central coastal plain between the Judean Shephelah and the Mediterranean coast, along Nahal Ayalon.<ref>Amir Golani (2022) Early Bronze Age Remains at Tel Lod, 'Atiqot 108</ref> Other important nearby sites were Tel Dalit, Tel Bareqet, Khirbat Abu Hamid (Shoham North), [[Tel Afek|Tel Afeq]], [[Azor]] and [[Jaffa]].

Two architectural phases belong to the late EB I in Area B.<ref>Keplan 1977</ref> The first phase had a mudbrick wall, while the late phase included a circulat stone structure. Later excavations have produced an occupation later, Stratum IV.<ref>Brink 1999, 2002; Brink et al. 2015</ref> It consists of two phases, Stratum IVb with mudbrick wall on stone foundations and rounded exterior corners. In Stratum IVa there was a mudbrick wall with no stone foundations, with imported Egyptian potter and local pottery imitations.

Another excavations revealed nine occupation strata. Strata VI-III belonged to Early Bronze IB. The material culture showed Egyptian imports in strata V and IV.<ref>Paz, Rosenberg and Nativ 2005:131–154</ref>

Occupation continued into Early Bronze II with four strata (V-II). There was continuity in the material culture and indications of centralized urban planning.

===Middle Bronze===
North to the tell were scattered MB II burials.<ref> Segal 2012</ref>

===Late Bronze===
The earliest written record is in a list of [[Canaan]]ite towns drawn up by the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] [[pharaoh]] [[Thutmose III]] at [[Karnak]] in [[2nd millennium BC|1465 BCE]].<ref name="Franciscan">{{cite news|title=Excursions in Terra Santa|url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/escurs/TS/02_TSen.html|publisher=Franciscan Cyberspot|access-date=22 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023070735/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/escurs/TS/02_TSen.html|archive-date=23 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Classical era===
From the fifth century BCE until the [[Roman period]], the city was a centre of Jewish scholarship<ref>Rozenfeld, 2010, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dD_dGmWh73QC&pg=PA52 52]</ref> and commerce.<ref name=EB>"Lod," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2009.</ref> 

According to British historian [[Martin Gilbert]], during the [[Hasmonean]] period, [[Jonathan Maccabee]] and his brother, [[Simon Maccabaeus]], enlarged the area under Jewish control, which included conquering the city.<ref>[[Martin Gilbert|Gilbert, Martin]]. ''Dearest Auntie Flori: The Story of the Jewish People''. New York: Harper Collins 2002, p. 82; also see Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 14: 208</ref>

===Roman era===
[[File:Umm ar-Rasas Church of St. Stephen Lidda 2789.jpg|thumb|right|Depiction of Lydda in the [[Umm ar-Rasas mosaics]], 8th century CE]]
The Jewish community in Lod during the Mishnah and Talmud era is described in a significant number of sources, including information on its institutions, demographics, and way of life. The city reached its height as a Jewish center between the [[First Jewish–Roman War|First Jewish-Roman War]] and the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], and again in the days of [[Judah ha-Nasi]] and the start of the [[Amoraim]] period. The city was then the site of numerous public institutions, including schools, study houses, and synagogues.<ref name=":2" /> 

In 43 BC, [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]], the Roman governor of [[Roman Syria|Syria]], sold the inhabitants of Lod into slavery, but they were set free two years later by [[Mark Antony]].<ref name="CE" /><ref>Josephus, "Jewish War", I, xi, 2; "Antiquities", XIV xii, pp. 2–5.</ref> 

During the First Jewish–Roman War, the Roman ''[[proconsul]]'' of Syria, [[Cestius Gallus]], razed the town on his way to [[Jerusalem]] in ''[[Tishrei]]'' 66 CE. According to Josephus, "[he] found the city deserted, for the entire population had [[Three Pilgrimage Festivals|gone up to Jerusalem]] for the [[Sukkot|Feast of Tabernacles]]. He killed fifty people whom he found, burned the town and marched on".<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Guy MacLean |title=For the Freedom of Zion: the Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66-74 CE |date=2021 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24813-5 |location=New Haven |pages=169}}</ref> Lydda was occupied by Emperor [[Vespasian]] in 68 CE.<ref>Michael Avi-Yonah, s.v. "Lydda," ''Encyclopaedia Judaica''. Accessed 1 November 2022.</ref>

In the period following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, [[Rabbi Tarfon]], who appears in many Tannaitic and Jewish legal discussions, served as a rabbinic authority in Lod.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHD4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1899|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions|first=Eric|last=Orlin|date=19 November 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-62559-8 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

During the [[Kitos War]], 115–117 CE, the Roman army laid siege to Lod, where the rebel Jews had gathered under the leadership of Julian and Pappos. Torah study was outlawed by the Romans and pursued mostly in the underground.<ref>Holder, 1986, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=t2bJ1UqfNXAC&pg=PA52 52]</ref> The distress became so great, the patriarch Rabban [[Gamaliel II]], who was shut up there and died soon afterwards, permitted fasting on [[Ḥanukkah]]. Other rabbis disagreed with this ruling.<ref>Ta'anit ii. 10; Yer. Ta'anit ii. 66a; Yer. Meg. i. 70d; R. H. 18b</ref> Lydda was next taken and many of the Jews were executed; the "slain of Lydda" are often mentioned in words of reverential praise in the Talmud.<ref>Pes. 50a; B. B. 10b; Eccl. R. ix. 10</ref>

In 200 CE, emperor [[Septimius Severus]] elevated the town to the status of a city, calling it ''Colonia Lucia Septimia Severa Diospolis''.<ref>Cecil Roth, ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'', 1972, p. 619.</ref> The name ''Diospolis'' ("City of Zeus") may have been bestowed earlier, possibly by Hadrian.<ref>Smallwood, 2001, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jSYbpitEjggC&pg=PA241 241]</ref> At that point, most of its inhabitants were [[Christians|Christian]]. The earliest known [[Bishop of Lydda|bishop]] is Aëtius, a friend of [[Arius]].<ref name=CE/>

During the following century (200-300CE), it's said that [[Joshua ben Levi]] founded a yeshiva in Lod.

===Byzantine period===
[[File:La tomba di San Giorgio (Lod, Israele) 02.JPG|thumb|150px|Tomb of [[Saint George]], first mentioned about 530 by the pilgrim Theodosius<ref name=CE/>]]
[[File:Byzantine floor mosaic map at St. George Church Madaba P1090117.JPG|thumb|right|[[Madaba Map]], 6th century CE, showing Lod above and left (NW) of the red "[ΚΛΗ]ΡΟϹ ΔΑΝ" ("the lot of Dan") inscription (left margin, touching on damaged area)]]

In December 415, the [[Council of Diospolis]] was held here to try [[Pelagius (British monk)|Pelagius]]; he was acquitted. In the sixth century, the city was renamed Georgiopolis<ref>Yoram Tsafrir, Leah Di Segni, Judith Green, ''Tabula Imperii Romani Iudaea-Palestina: Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods; Maps and Gazetteer, p. 171. Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994; {{ISBN|978-965-208-107-0}}</ref> after [[St. George]], a soldier in the guard of the emperor [[Diocletian]], who was born there between 256 and 285 CE.<ref name=Frenkel>Frenkel, Sheera and Low, Valentine. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6150633.ece "Why Lod, the other land of St George, isn't for the faint-hearted"]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''The Times'', 23 April 2009.</ref> 

The [[Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr]] is named for him.<ref name="Franciscan"/>
The 6th-century [[Madaba map]] shows Lydda as an unwalled city with a cluster of buildings under a black inscription reading "Lod, also Lydea, also Diospolis".<ref>The Madaba Mosaic Map, Jerusalem 1954, pp. 61–62</ref> An isolated large building with a semicircular colonnaded plaza in front of it might represent the St George shrine.<ref>{{cite book |first= Herbert |last= Donner |title= The Mosaic Map of Madaba: An Introductory Guide |page= 54 |publisher= Kok Pharos |series= Palaestina antiqua (7) |location= Kampen |year= 1995 |edition= 2nd print |isbn= 978-90-390-0011-3 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DD_Vt16eKnAC&pg=PA54 |access-date=25 March 2020}}</ref>

===Early Muslim period===
[[File:Haan Lod.jpg|thumb|Khan el-Hilu, Lod]]

After the [[Muslim conquest of Palestine]] by [[Amr ibn al-'As]] in 636 CE,<ref>Le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/28/mode/1up 28]</ref> Lod which was referred to as "al-Ludd" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] served as the capital of [[Jund Filastin]] ("Military District of Palaestina") before the seat of power was moved to nearby [[Ramla]] during the reign of the [[Umayyad]] Caliph [[Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik]] in 715–716. The population of al-Ludd was relocated to Ramla, as well.<ref>Le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/303/mode/1up 303]</ref> With the relocation of its inhabitants and the construction of the [[White Mosque (Ramla)|White Mosque]] in Ramla, al-Ludd lost its importance and fell into decay.<ref name=":1">Le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/308/mode/1up 308]</ref>

The city was visited by the local Arab geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]] in 985, when it was under the [[Fatimid Caliphate]], and was noted for its Great Mosque which served the residents of al-Ludd, Ramla, and the nearby villages. He also wrote of the city's "wonderful church (of St. George) at the gate of which Christ will slay the [[Masih ad-Dajjal|Antichrist]]."<ref>Le Strange, 1890 p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/493/mode/1up 493]</ref>

===Crusader and Ayyubid period===
The [[Crusades|Crusaders]] occupied the city in 1099 and named it St Jorge de Lidde.<ref name=EB/> It was briefly conquered by [[Saladin]], but retaken by the Crusaders in 1191. For the English [[Crusades|Crusader]]s, it was a place of great significance as the birthplace of [[Saint George]]. The Crusaders made it the seat of a [[Latin Church]] diocese,<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Lydda}}</ref> and it remains a [[titular see]].<ref name=CE>[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2l61.html Lydda], Catholic-hierarchy.org. Accessed 1 November 2022.</ref> It owed the service of 10 knights and 20 sergeants, and it had its own burgess court during this era.<ref name=Pringlep11>Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA11 11]</ref>

In 1226, Ayyubid Syrian geographer [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]] visited al-Ludd and stated it was part of the Jerusalem District during [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] rule.<ref>Le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/494/mode/1up 494]</ref>

===Mamluk period===
[[File:Konrad von Grünenberg - Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem - Blatt 33r - 071.jpg|thumb|Lydda with ruined church over the tomb of St George and adjacent mosque ([[Konrad von Grünenberg]], 1487]]

Sultan [[Baybars]] brought Lydda again under Muslim control by 1267–8.<ref name=Petersen203>Petersen, 2001, p. [https://www.academia.edu/21620056/Gazetteer_5_K-R 203]</ref> According to [[Ahmad al-Qalqashandi|Qalqashandi]], Lydda was an administrative centre of a [[wilaya]] during the fourteenth and fifteenth century in the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] empire.<ref name=Petersen203/> [[Mujir al-Din]] described it as a pleasant village with an active Friday mosque.<ref name=Petersen203/><ref>Moudjir ed-dyn, 1876, Sauvaire (translation), pp. [https://archive.org/stream/histoiredejrus00ulayuoft#page/210/mode/1up 210]-213</ref>  During this time, Lydda was a station on the [[barid|postal route between Cairo and Damascus]].<ref name=Petersen203/><ref>al-Ẓāhirī, 1894, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/zoubdatkachfelm00algoog#page/n47/mode/1up 118]-119</ref>

===Ottoman period===
[[File:Lydda between 1890 and 1900.jpg|thumb|Lod, c.1890-1900]]
[[File:Lydda 1903.jpg|right|thumb|Lydda, 1903]]
In 1517, Lydda was incorporated into the [[Ottoman Empire]] as part of the [[Damascus Eyalet]], and in the 1550s, the revenues of Lydda were designated for the new [[waqf]] of [[Hasseki Sultan Imaret]] in Jerusalem, established by Hasseki Hurrem Sultan ([[Roxelana]]), the wife of [[Suleiman the Magnificent]].<ref>Singer, 2002, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zHBHBTNwBQoC&pg=PA49 49]</ref>

By 1596 Lydda was a part of the ''[[nahiya]]'' ("subdistrict") of [[Ramla]], which was under the administration of the ''[[Liwa (Arabic)|liwa]]'' ("district") of [[Gaza City|Gaza]]. It had a population of 241 households and 14 bachelors who were all Muslims, and 233 households who were Christians.<ref>Petersen, 2005, p. [https://archive.org/stream/TheTownsOfPalestineUnderUnderMuslimRule/AndrewPetersenTheTownsOfPalestineUnderMuslimRule-600-1600#page/n139/mode/1up  131]</ref> They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3 % on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, sesame, special product ("dawalib" =spinning wheels<ref name=Petersen203/>), goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and market toll, a total of 45,000 [[Akçe]]. All of the revenue went to the [[Waqf]].<ref name="Hut and Abd">Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 154</ref>

In 1051 AH/1641/2, the Bedouin tribe of [[Al-Sawalima|al-Sawālima]] from around [[Jaffa]] attacked the villages of [[Subtara|Subṭāra]], [[Bayt Dajan]], [[Al-Safiriyya|al-Sāfiriya]], [[Jindas|Jindās]], Lydda and [[Yazur|Yāzūr]] belonging to [[Haseki Sultan Imaret|Waqf Haseki Sultan]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |date=2022-11-01 |title=Jindās: A History of Lydda's Rural Hinterland in the 15th to the 20th Centuries CE |url=https://www.academia.edu/90931976 |journal=Lod, Lydda, Diospolis |pages=13–14}}</ref>

The village appeared as ''Lydda'', though misplaced, on the map of [[Pierre Jacotin]] compiled in [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|1799]].<ref>Karmon, 1960, p. [http://www.jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf 171] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222063351/http://jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf |date=2019-12-22 }}</ref>

Missionary [[William McClure Thomson|William M. Thomson]] visited Lydda in the mid-19th century, describing it as a "flourishing village of some 2,000 inhabitants, imbosomed in noble orchards of [[olive]], [[ficus|fig]], [[pomegranate]], [[mulberry]], [[sycamore]], and other trees, surrounded every way by a very fertile neighbourhood. The inhabitants are evidently industrious and thriving, and the whole country between this and Ramleh is fast being filled up with their flourishing orchards. Rarely have I beheld a rural scene more delightful than this presented in early harvest ... It must be seen, heard, and enjoyed to be appreciated."<ref>Thomson, 1859, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/landandbookorbi08thomgoog#page/n304/mode/1up 292]-3</ref>

In 1869, the population of Ludd was given as: 55 Catholics, 1,940 "Greeks", 5 Protestants and 4,850 Muslims.<ref name=SWP252/> In 1870, the Church of Saint George was rebuilt. In 1892, the first [[railway station]] in the entire region was established in the city.<ref name=Shahinp260>Shahin, 2005, p. 260</ref> In the second half of the 19th century, Jewish merchants migrated to the city, but left after the [[Jaffa riots|1921 Jaffa riots]].<ref name=Shahinp260/>

In 1882, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]]'s ''Survey of Western Palestine'' described Lod as "A small town, standing among enclosure of prickly pear, and having fine olive groves around it, especially to the south. The [[minaret]] of the [[mosque]] is a very conspicuous object over the whole of the plain. The inhabitants are principally Moslim, though the place is the seat of a Greek bishop resident of Jerusalem. [[Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr|The Crusading church]] has lately been restored, and is used by the Greeks. Wells are found in the gardens...."<ref name=SWP252>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/252/mode/1up 252]</ref>

===British Mandate===
[[File:לוד - מראה-JNF022399.jpeg|thumb|Lydda, 1920]]
[[File:Lydda 1932.jpg|right|thumb|Lydda, 1932]]

From 1918, Lydda was under the administration of the [[Mandate for Palestine|British Mandate in Palestine]], as per a [[League of Nations]] decree that followed the [[Great War]]. During the [[Second World War]], the British set up supply posts in and around Lydda and its railway station, also building an airport that was renamed [[Ben Gurion Airport]] after the death of Israel's first prime minister in 1973.<ref name=Shahinp260/><ref>{{cite web |title=Ben Gurion Airport |url=https://www.jpost.com/tags/ben-gurion-airport |publisher=Jerusalem Post |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>

At the time of the [[1922 census of Palestine]], Lydda had a population of 8,103 inhabitants (7,166 Muslims, 926 Christians, and 11 Jews),<ref>Barron,  1923, Table VII, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n23/mode/1up 21]</ref> the Christians were 921 Orthodox, 4 Roman Catholics and 1 [[Melkite]].<ref>Barron,  1923, Table XIV, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n48/mode/1up 46]</ref> This had increased by the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] to 11,250 (10,002 Muslims, 1,210 Christians, 28 Jews, and 10 Bahai), in a total of 2475 residential houses.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 21]</ref>

In 1938, Lydda had a population of 12,750.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VillageStatistics1938orig.pdf |title=Village Statistics |year=1938 |pages=59}}</ref>

In 1945, Lydda had a population of 16,780 (14,910 Muslims, 1,840 Christians, 20 Jews and 10 "other").<ref name="1945p30">Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p30.jpg 30]</ref> Until 1948, Lydda was an Arab town with a population of around 20,000—18,500 Muslims and 1,500 Christians.<ref>"Lod," 2 January 1949, IS archive Gimel/5/297 in Yacobi, 2009, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DbB9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 31].</ref><ref name="Monterescup16" /> In 1947, the United Nations proposed [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|dividing Mandatory Palestine]] into two states, one [[Jewish state]] and one Arab; Lydda was to form part of the proposed Arab state.<ref name="Sadip91">Sa'di and Abu-Lughod, 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MbKrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 91]-92.</ref>  In the [[1948 Arab-Israeli war|ensuing war]], Israel captured Arab towns outside the area the UN had allotted it, including Lydda.

In December 1947, thirteen Jewish passengers in a seven-car convoy to [[Ben Shemen Youth Village]] were ambushed and murdered.<ref>[https://www.jta.org/archive/jews-and-arabs-die-as-palestine-disorders-continue-arab-legion-kills-12-jews Jews and Arabs Die As Palestine Disorders Continue; Arab Legion Kills 12 Jews] The Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 15 December 1947</ref><ref name=shavit/>In a separate incident, three Jewish youths, two men and a woman were captured, then raped and murdered in a neighbouring village.<ref name=shavit/> Their bodies were paraded in Lydda’s principal street.<ref name=shavit>{{cite book
|last1       = Shavit
|first1      = Ari
|year        = 2013
|title       = My Promised Land
|url         = 
|pages       = 128
|publisher = Spiegel & Grau
|isbn = 978-0385521703
|access-date = 
}}</ref>

===State of Israel===
{{main|Palestinian expulsion from Lydda and Ramle}}
[[Image:Downtown_area_of_Lod,_Israel_00262.JPG|thumb|View of a Lod street, 2005]]
The [[Israel Defense Forces]] entered Lydda on 11 July 1948.<ref>For one account, interspersed with interviews with IDF soldiers, see Ari Shavit, ''My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel''. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2013, pp. 99–132.</ref> The following day, under the impression that it was under attack,<ref name=Tal311>Tal,  2004, p. 311.</ref> the 3rd Battalion was ordered to shoot anyone "seen on the streets". According to Israel, 250 Arabs were killed. Other estimates are higher: Arab historian [[Aref al Aref]] estimated 400, and [[Nimr al Khatib]] 1,700.<ref name=Morris>Sefer Hapalmah ii (The Book of the Palmah), p. 565; and KMA-PA (Kibbutz Meuhad Archives – Palmah Archive). Quoted in Benny Morris, ''The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987.</ref><ref name=Morrisp205>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA205 205] Morris writes: "[...] dozens of unarmed detainees in the mosque and church in the centre of the town were shot and killed."</ref>

In 1948, the population rose to 50,000 during the [[Nakba]], as [[Palestinian refugees|Arab refugees]] fleeing other areas made their way there.<ref name=Shahinp260/> A key event was the [[Palestinian expulsion from Lydda and Ramle]], with the expulsion of 50,000-70,000 Palestinians from Lydda and [[Ramla|Ramle]] by the Israel Defense Forces. All but 700<ref>The figure comes from [[Bechor Sheetrit]], the Israeli Minister for Minority Affairs at the time, cited in Yacobi, 2009, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DbB9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 32].</ref> to 1,056<ref name="gibb"/> were expelled by order of the Israeli high command, and forced to walk {{convert|17|km|mi|frac=2|abbr=on}} to the Jordanian [[Arab Legion]] lines. Estimates of those who died from exhaustion and dehydration vary from a handful to 355.<ref name="here">Spiro Munayyer, The Fall of Lydda( اللد لن تقع), ''[[Journal of Palestine Studies]]'', Vol. 27, No. 4 (Summer, 1998), pp. 80–98. See also [[Yitzhak Rabin]]'s diaries, quoted here [http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Famous-Zionist-Quotes/Story739.html].</ref><ref name=Holmesp64>Holmes et al., 2001, p. 64.</ref> The town was subsequently [[Looting|sacked]] by the Israeli army.<ref>Morris, Benny "[https://www.jstor.org/pss/4327250 Operation Dani and the Palestinian Exodus from Lydda and Ramle in 1948]", ''Middle East Journal'' 40 (1986), p. 88.</ref> Some scholars, including [[Ilan Pappé]], characterize this as [[ethnic cleansing]].<ref>For the use of the term "ethnic cleansing", see, for example, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yjeXQVmGrwcC&pg=PT164 Pappé 2006].
*On whether what occurred in Lydda and Ramle constituted ethnic cleansing:
*[https://archive.org/details/1948historyoffir00morr <!-- quote=1948 morris. --> Morris 2008, p. 408]: "although an atmosphere of what would later be called ethnic cleansing prevailed during critical months, transfer never became a general or declared Zionist policy. Thus, by war's end, even though much of the country had been 'cleansed' of Arabs, other parts of the country—notably central Galilee — were left with substantial Muslim Arab populations, and towns in the heart of the Jewish coastal strip, Haifa and Jaffa, were left with an Arab minority."
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=v2AICgAAQBAJ&pg=PA284 Spangler 2015, p. 156]: "During the ''Nakba'', the 1947 [''sic''] displacement of Palestinians, Rabin had been second in command over Operation Dani, the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian towns of towns of Lydda and Ramle."
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=tXMAicS2ar8C&pg=PA63 Schwartzwald 2012, p. 63]: "The facts do not bear out this contention [of ethnic cleansing]. To be sure, some refugees were forced to flee: fifty thousand were expelled from the strategically located towns of Lydda and Ramle ... But these were the exceptions, not the rule, and ethnic cleansing had nothing to do with it."
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=w_-FBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA107 Golani and Manna 2011, p. 107]: "The expulsion of some 50,000 Palestinians from their homes ... was one of the most visible atrocities stemming from Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing."</ref> The few hundred Arabs who remained in the city were soon outnumbered by the influx of Jews who [[aliyah|immigrated]] to Lod from August 1948 onward, most of them from Arab countries.<ref name="gibb"/> As a result, Lod became a predominantly Jewish town.<ref name=Monterescup16>Monterescu and Rabinowitz, 2012, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FFI839WlC9cC&pg=PA16 16]-17.</ref><ref name=Yacobi29>Yacobi, 2009, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DbB9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29].</ref>

After the establishment of the state, the biblical name Lod was readopted.<ref>Yacobi, 2009, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DbB9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29]: "The occupation of Lydda by Israel in the 1948 war did not allow the realization of Pocheck's garden city vision. Different geopolitics and ideologies began to shape Lydda's urban landscape ... [and] its name was changed from Lydda to Lod, which was the region's biblical name"; also see Pearlman, Moshe and Yannai, Yacov. ''Historical sites in Israel''. Vanguard Press, 1964, p. 160. For the Hebrew name being used by inhabitants before 1948, see ''A Cyclopædia of Biblical literature'': Volume 2, by [[John Kitto]], [[William Lindsay Alexander]]. p. 842 ("... the old Hebrew name, Lod, which had probably been always used by the inhabitants, appears again in history."); And Lod (Lydda), Israel: from its origins through the Byzantine period, 5600 B.C.E.-640 C.E., by Joshua J. Schwartz, 1991, p. 15 ("the pronunciation Lud began to appear along with the form Lod")</ref>
 
<gallery>
File:Lod 7 dec 1948.jpg|Lydda five months after Operation Danny. December 1948.
File:LyddaOldCity.png|Lydda, 1948
File:Lydda church.jpg|[[Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr]], after the battle. 1948
File:Lydda mosque.jpg|Palmach 3 inch mortar in front of Lydda mosque. 1948
File: Lydda Mandate Police HQ.jpg
</gallery>

The Jewish immigrants who settled Lod came in waves, [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries|first]] from [[Morocco]] and [[Tunisia]], later from [[Ethiopia]], and then from the former [[Soviet Union]].<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/middleeast/09lod.html?hp Polishing a Lost Gem to Dazzle Tourists]", ''New York Times''. 8 July 2009.</ref>  

Since 2008, many urban development projects have been undertaken to improve the image of the city. Upscale neighbourhoods have been built, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah, expanding the city to the east. According to a 2010 report in the ''Economist'',  a three-meter-high wall was built between Jewish and Arab neighbourhoods and construction in Jewish areas was given priority over construction in Arab neighborhoods.  The newspaper says that violent crime in the Arab sector revolves mainly around family feuds over turf and honour crimes.<ref name="Econ">[http://www.economist.com/node/17254422 Pulled Apart]. ''[[The Economist]]'', 14 October 2010.</ref> In 2010, the Lod Community Foundation organised an event for representatives of bicultural youth movements, volunteer aid organisations, educational start-ups, businessmen, sports organizations, and conservationists working on programmes to better the city.<ref>Ron Friedman, [https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Pushing-for-a-better-tomorrow-in-8000-year-old-Lod Pushing for a better tomorrow in 8,000-year-old Lod], The Jerusalem Post, 8 April 2010. Accessed 25 March 2020.</ref>

[[File:Disorders in Lod, May 2021. VII.jpg|thumb|right|[[Israel Police|Israeli forces]] in Lod, 11 May 2021]]
In the [[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis]], a state of emergency was declared in Lod after Arab rioting led to the death of an Israeli Jew.<ref>{{Cite news|title=IDF enters Lod as city goes into emergency lockdown|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/border-police-officers-diverted-to-lod-amid-violent-protests-667894|access-date=12 May 2021|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com|language=en-US}}</ref> The Mayor of Lod, Yair Revivio, urged [[Prime Minister of Israel]] [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] to deploy [[Israel Border Police]] to restore order in the city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amid Gaza barrages, major rioting and chaos erupt in Lod; Mayor: It's civil war|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-may-11-2021/|publisher=Times of Israel|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511230326/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-may-11-2021/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Arab politician warns Israel is 'on the brink of a civil war'|url=https://news.yahoo.com/arab-politician-warns-israel-brink-050700968.html|access-date=13 May 2021|website=news.yahoo.com|date=13 May 2021 |language=en|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513061837/https://news.yahoo.com/arab-politician-warns-israel-brink-050700968.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This was the first time since 1966 that Israel had declared  this kind of emergency lockdown.<ref>{{cite news|title=IDF enters Lod as city goes into emergency lockdown|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/border-police-officers-diverted-to-lod-amid-violent-protests-667894|access-date=12 May 2021|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com|language=en-US|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513013958/https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/border-police-officers-diverted-to-lod-amid-violent-protests-667894|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=StateOfEmergency>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-declares-state-of-emergency-in-lod/ |title=Netanyahu declares state of emergency in Lod |date=11 May 2021 |last=Schneider |first=Tal |website=[[The Times of Israel]] |access-date=12 May 2021 |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513014006/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-declares-state-of-emergency-in-lod/ |url-status=live }}</ref> International media noted that both Jewish and Palestinian mobs were active in Lod, but the "crackdown came for one side" only.<ref>[https://theintercept.com/2021/05/29/israel-palestine-mobs-crackdown/ Jewish and Palestinian mobs dueled in Israeli towns — but the crackdown came for one side], Dalia Hatuqa, May 29 2021, [[The Intercept]]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210602092434/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/world/middleeast/arab-jewish-violence-lod.html Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel suddenly ruptured], [[Isabel Kershner]], May 13, 2021, [[The New York Times]]</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/13/this-is-more-than-a-reaction-to-rockets-communal-violence-spreads-in-israel ‘This is more than a reaction to rockets’: communal violence spreads in Israel], Peter Beaumont, Quique Kierszenbaum and Sufian Taha, 13 May 2021, [[The Guardian]]</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/15/far-right-jewish-groups-arab-youths-claim-streets-lod-israel-loses-control Far-right Jewish groups and Arab youths claim streets of Lod as Israel loses control], Oliver Holmes and Quique Kierszenbaum, 15 May 2021, [[The Guardian]]</ref><ref>[https://www.972mag.com/israel-police-settlers-lyd/ How Israeli police are colluding with settlers against Palestinian citizens], 
Oren Ziv, May 13, 2021, [[+972 Magazine]]</ref>