The main group of Israeli men arranged with the men who would be hiding that they should send up a smoke signal to enable the main group of soldiers to know when they should attack. Then the main group of Israeli men retreated for a short distance, because they knew that the other Israeli men who had been hiding on the other side of Gibeah would attack the people of the tribe of Benjamin by surprise. So after the main group of Israeli men retreated a little distance, the men who had been hiding rushed out and ran into Gibeah and used their swords to kill everyone in the city. Then they started to burn the buildings.