The Six-Day War

The Six Day war was the third large scale military confrontation between Israel and the Arab states which in turn was a result of the political tension that had existed for decades following the founding of Israel in 1948.

Due to the territorial disputes that happened during the birth of Israel in 1948, a coalition of Arab nations invaded the Jewish state, leading to the First Arab Israeli War. The invasion failed but Israel lost territories to Jordan*, Egypt and Syria.

The second major conflict was during the Suez Crisis of 1956-57 when Israel, with direct support from the United Kingdom and France, invaded Egypt in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal. It was only the heavy pressure of the United States of America that forced Israel to withdraw from the Suez region in 1967.

There was a period of relative calm during the late 1950s and early 1960s but it was only a calm before the coming storm. Arab leaders were not happy at the status-quo at the moment and sought to even the odds with further military operations against Israel. 

The Outbreak of the Six-Day War:

The Israeli Defence Force coordinated a massive aerial attack on Egypt on June 5, 1967. Approximately 200 aircraft took off from the airfields of Israel and attacked Egypt from the north, catching the Egyptian army by complete surprise. In the ensuing assault, roughly 90 percent of the Egyptian air force was destroyed on the ground. Similar operations were conducted against the air forces of Jordan and Syria with similar results.

By the end of June 5, the Israeli air force had won full control of the skies over the Middle East.

With the victory in the air complete, the war on ground began the same day on June 5. With the support of the air force, the Israeli army poured across the Egyptian border into the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.

Despite a spirited defence put up by the Egyptian Army, the battle in the Sinai proved to be disastrous for Egypt as several casualties inflicted, they were forced to retreat.

The operation against the Jordanians began with artillery bombing by them on Israeli positions in Jerusalem. The Jordanians had begun the bombardment following misguided reports of an Egyptian victory. The Israelis began a counter-attack which led to the capture of the West Bank and East Jerusalem on June 7. It was celebrated by Israeli troops with a prayer held at the Wailing Wall, one of the holiest sites Judaism.

The final confrontation of the Six Day war was against the Syrian held Golan Heights on the northeastern border of Israel. Beginning on June 9, Israeli tanks and infantry converged on the Golan Heights followed by aerial support. The Golan Heights fell to the Israeli Army on June 10, 1967.

A ceasefire declared by the United Nations took effect on June 10, 1967, ending the Six Day War. 

*Commonly known as West Bank.

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