expelled by order of the Israeli high command, and forced to walk 17 kilometres to Arab Legion lines on one of the hottest days of the year. Many died from exhaustion and dehydration; estimates vary from a handful to 355. The town was subsequently sacked by the Israeli army. The few hundred Arabs who remained in the city were not permitted to live in their own homes. They were soon outnumbered by the influx of Jewish immigrants who moved into the town from August 1948 onwards, most from Arab countries. as a result of which Lydda became a predominantly Jewish town.
The new Jewish immigrants came in waves, first from Morocco and Tunisia, and later from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. The city continues to influence the work of Israeli artists and thinkers, such as Dor Guez's 2009 exhibit Georgeopolis at the Petach Tikva art museum.
A three meter-high wall has been erected to separate Jewish districts from Arab ones. Arab suburbs have been restricted from growing, while the Israeli government has encouraged building in Jewish areas. Some municipal services, such as street lighting and rubbish collection, are only provided to Jewish areas.
Plagued by a poor image for decades, projects are under way to improve services in Lod. New upscale neighborhoods are expanding the city to the east, among them Ganei Ya'ar and Ahisemah
