Following the UN decision of 29 November 1947, a state of emergency was declared in the "Gush". Its main function was to guard the southern approach to Jerusalem, and to protect the lives of its inhabitants. On 11 December 1947, a food convoy heading towards the "Gush" from Jerusalem was attacked and ten people were killed. In mid December, the "Gush" was the first Jewish region in Palestine to be put under siege conditions. Most of the children and some of the mothers were evacuated from the "Gush" as early as 5 January 1948 to several places in Jerusalem, most of them to the Ratisbonne Monastery. Regular contact by land was almost impossible, and from 15 January 1948, the needs of the "Gush" were mainly supplied by airdrops from light airplanes. On 16 January 1948, Palmach reinforcements tried to reach Gush Etzion from the west, but were discovered and attacked by a large Arab force, and all its 35 fighters (the “Lamed-Hey”) were slaughtered, leaving the "Gush" in a critical situation. On 27 March, a large convoy was organized to bring supplies and reinforcements to the besieged "Gush". The convoy was composed of 51 vehicles, 35 trucks and a few armored cars. The convoy reached the "Gush" on the morning of Saturday, 27 March and was scheduled to leave within an hour for the return trip to Jerusalem. The convoy was blocked at a barricade at Nebi Daniel, a few kilometers south of Bethlehem, and became a sitting duck for Arab snipers and marauders. The convoy suffered 12 dead and more than 70 wounded and was rescued only the next day with the help of the British Army. As a result of the strong winds blowing on the hills and the bad weather, some of the air-dropped supplies to the "Gush" fell into Arab hands. Therefore, it was decided to arrange an improvised landing strip for planes. They widened an internal road, at the crossroad between the four settlements, and created a temporary strip 200 meters long and 20 meters wide, which was later lengthened to 500 meters On 7 February 1948, the strip was inaugurated and the first plane landed with supplies. From this date onwards, the planes landed every few days, under heavy fire and complicated physical conditions, bringing supplies, food, mail and – at times – reinforcements. The flights also involved reconnaissance and the pilots transferred vital information regarding Arab movements and roadblocks in the area, especially when convoys were planned. These flights continued for three months, until 9 May, and during this time provided the only contact with the rest of the country. The "Gush" fought with much courage for about half a year, but after the intervention of the Jordanian army, the battle was lost, and on May 14 1948, the day of the declaration of independence, the "Gush" finally surrendered. 240 of its fighters were killed, and the rest were taken to a Jordanian prison, and later were transferred to a POW camp at Mafrak, in Jordan. Military historians today say that the heroic defense of the "Gush" played an important part in the saving of Jerusalem.