Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 10 June 1967
- In just six days the Israeli army conquered the entire Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and in addition to that, Jerusalem and the entire West Bank of the Jordan River.
On this day the famous “Six-Day War” ended, in which the Israeli weaponry achieved yet unprecedented success at the expense of the surrounding Arab countries.
In just six days the Israeli army conquered the entire Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and moreover, Jerusalem and the entire West Bank of the Jordan River.
Israel began the conquest with a large army of about 100,000 troops, 800 tanks and 300 aircraft.
This great success can largely be credited to Israeli generals, many of whom became national heroes and later achieved high political careers.
Among them were General Moshe Dayan, Israel’s defense minister and General Yitzhak Rabin, then the IDF Chief of Staff (the highest military position in Israel).
Moshe Dayan is known to the public for his eyepatch, which he earned in World War II when he was hit by an enemy bullet while he surveyed the surroundings using his binoculars.
Yitzhak Rabin is known also as the later Prime Minister of Israel. General Mordechai Gur, who seized Jerusalem, is also well-known.
The Six-Day War began with a powerful Israeli air bombardment of their opponents. This action, called “Operation Focus”, was conducted by Air Force Commander General Mordechai Hod, who send almost all Israeli planes to attack and risked by leaving only 12 planes to defend the country.
The air strike was a great success and it almost incapacitated his enemies. The biggest breakthrough in the field was made by General Ariel Sharon, digging in with his armored division deep in the Sinai Peninsula. Sharon, of course, later also became one of the most famous Israeli Prime Ministers.
