The situation had become desperate for Israel. The Jews in Jerusalem were on the verge of starvation, and they would soon be forced to accept whatever terms the Arabs demanded. Israel accepted a cease-fire agreement from the UN, and to everyone's surprise, the Arabs also accepted it.

The Israelis tried again to dislodge the Arabs from Latrun, so they could food to the starving Jews in Jerusalem. Military power couldn't do the job, so they started to build a new road around the Arab blockade. They couldn't build the road fast enough, so Israel depended on the two feet of marching men to get food into Jerusalem.

After two weeks of intense combat, the Jews in the Jewish Quarter finally surrendered. The Arabs destroyed the Hurva synagogue, the last stronghold of the Jewish fighters. The Jews lost all connection to the Old City until 1967, but they came back and today the Hurva, after lying in ruins for 60 years, is being rebuilt.

The Jews in Jerusalem were starving, so David Ben-Gurion ordered the Haganah to attack the strong Arab Legion positions at Latrun. The Haganah commander wanted to wait, but Ben-Gurion persisted. The first battle at Latrun turned out to be Israel's worst military disaster.