On 1 May 1948, one Palmach squad captured Biriyya, while another force took the adjacent village of 'Ayn al-Zaytun, in preparation for the final assault on Safad, but judging from the experience of 'Ayn al-Zaytun, the residents were probably forced to leave, and some may have been killed in the process. Zionists established a fortified settlement on the lands of the village in 1945 and named it Biriyya. It was taken over on September 1948 by a religious kibbutz. About fifteen houses remain and are inhabited by the residents of the settlement of Biriyya; the settlement has been expanded to include the village site.