The plan to capture Lod and Ramla began to take shape shortly before the start of the first truce. In the first stage, only these two cities were to be captured, and so the operational plan was named “Loder” (Lod-Ramla).  In the second stage, the plan was expanded beyond the capture of these two cities. The mission was to “liberate the city of Jerusalem and the road to it from enemy pressure,” and therefore Latrun and Ramallah were added to the list of targets. At this stage, the name was changed from “Loder” to “Lerler (LRLR)” (Lod-Ramla-Latrun-Ramallah).

The main points of the first plan for Operation “Lerler” were presented to the Minister of Defense on June 4, 1948. According to the plan, it was proposed to attack these cities on two fronts: one front would consist of two battalions, which would first capture Wilhelma (Bnei Atarot), Deir Tarif, and Beit Nabala, and close off the left flank as far as Ben Shemen. Another battalion would attack Daniel, Gimzo, and Khirbet Zohariya from El-Bria. This plan proposed to encircle Lod and Ramla rather than attack them head-on. According to the plan, one battalion was to be dedicated on the front lines of these cities. Since the consolidation of Lod and Ramla had only been hinted at, only four infantry battalions were required for the mission.

In the second week of the truce, the plan was changed by the General Staff. The change included the capture of the airport and the cities of Lod and Ramla. Since this plan already included entering the airport and capturing the two cities, the force required was increased to seven battalions and two companies. Unlike the first plan, which required only infantry, the second plan also assigned supporting forces from the Armored Corps and the Artillery Corps. This plan also proposed two heads of operation: one was to capture the airport while pinning down the enemy forces at Rosh HaAyin; the other was to capture Wilhelma and Lod, and to encircle Ramla.

This plan was also not implemented, and on July 4, 1948, an improved “Lerler Plan” was presented to the Minister of Defense: Attacking Lod and Ramla with two prongs – one from the north and one from the south – capturing both cities and directing the fighting forces to Latrun after they had completed their mission.

From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Municipality of Lod - Cherikover.

In the second stage, they were to encircle the Legion forces in Latrun and attack them from the rear. According to this plan, the operation was divided into two sectors: the western sector - the capture of the airport, Lod, Ramla, and the surrounding villages, and the eastern sector - the capture of the areas between Sha'ar HaGai and the Jerusalem Corridor. This plan required the allocation of forces larger than those required for the previous operational plans. The new plan included proposals regarding the forces that would participate in the operation and decided on their roles.

The Mission of Each Force -  As Follows:

  • The Alexandroni Battalion – Its mission was to pin down enemy forces at Rosh HaAyin (where Jerusalem's water sources were located) and then capture Wilehlma (Bnei Atarot) and Yehudiya.
  • 8th Brigade  - Its main mission was to capture the Airport and the City of Lod. The Brigade was to be composed of four battalions: two armored Battalions, a Palmach Battalion from the Yiftach Brigade, and a Battalion from the Kiryati Brigade.
  • The Ben Shemen Unit (Kiryati) was tasked with blocking the Arab Legion forces in Beit Nabala.
  • Two Battalions were assigned to capture Ramla: a Palmach Battalion from the Yiftach Brigade and a Battalion from the Kiryati Brigade.

The “LRLR” plan did not specify anything about the commander of the operation, and he was appointed only three days before it began. On July 7, Yigal Allon was appointed commander of the LRLR plan. Yitzhak Rabin, who was also the operations officer at headquarters, was appointed his deputy. With the appointment of Yigal Allon, the name of the LRLR operation was changed to Operation Dani. According to Mula Cohen (commander of the Yiftach Brigade that fought in the operation), the name was given by the fighters themselves in memory of Dani Mass, commander of the Mountain Division, who came to the aid of the besieged Gush Etzion and fell with 35 of his soldiers in battle. Dr. Elchanan Oren notes that the name was given by the commander of the operation in order to conceal the name “LRLR,” which he considered artificial (Oren, A. On the Way to the City - Operation Danny. Ma'arachot Publishing, 1976, p. 59).