Deir Yassin continues to smolder as both an epic of Zionist terrorism &/or Arab propaganda.

I certainly believe many civilians were killed, needlessly & recklessly at Der Yassin. Historically speaking many wartime atrocities are linked to poorly-trained & disciplined militias—e.g. Lawrence, KS; Sabra & Shatila; Ukrainian fascist militias during WWII, etc—& Lehi & Irgun certainly match those criteria. Lehi, in fact, essentially fought for the Nazis during WWII, while Irgun at least respected Hagana's truce with the British. Lehi's later assassination of High Commissioner, Lord Moyne, in fact, was a key factor in turning Great Britain away from supporting Zionism & possibility continuing enactment of the Balfour Declaration post-war.

So, massacre? Yes.

Intentional? Not so sure. There was a sound truck to warn civilians off to precede the assault. It got stuck in a ditch outside the village. The Israelis also had bad intelligence, believing there would be few fighters on hand, when actually there were large number of Arab Legion soldiers on hand. The battle war far more intense than expected. The use of grenades to clear homes was devastating to all inside, uniform or civilian.

None of this, of course, excuses deliberate violence against civilians, children in particular. Some of the accounts offered do sound exaggerated: a girl torn in half? How did they manage that?

Certainly Deir Yassin resonated across the land & explains why so many Palestinians fled their homes as IDF units approached.

IDF's refusal to open their archives to complete public review suggests that not all was exaggerated.