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Source: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-pocket-guide-to-defiance/
Air-Raid Attacks on Israel in World War II
(Times of Israel) Sarah Ansbacher - In the summer of 1940, residents of Haifa heard air raid sirens for the first time. Italy, under Mussolini and allied with Nazi Germany, had entered the war in June 1940. On July 15, five Italian bombers began targeting British-controlled Mandatory Palestine, setting fire to three oil storage tanks and damaging one of Haifa's power stations. One Arab civilian was killed. Ten Italian bombers returned on July 24, dropping 50 bombs on Haifa and its oil infrastructure, starting huge fires and blocking the refinery's production for almost a month. 28 Arabs, 15 Jewish civilians, and a British police officer were killed. On Sep. 9, six bombers flying from Rhodes intended to strike Haifa once more - but British fighter aircraft turned them back. The bombers redirected towards Tel Aviv, aiming for the port, but instead struck residential areas. 117 Jewish civilians were killed, along with seven Arab civilians and one Australian soldier. One Italian bomber was shot down.