07/10/2023 – 20:54
On October 6, 1973, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Israel was caught off guard by a military offensive by a coalition of Arab nations, which exposed intelligence failures and bad decisions by the political class. The attacks by the radical Islamic group Hamas against Israel this Saturday (07 /10) occurred 50 years and one day after the start of the Yom Kippur War, a traumatic event in Israeli history, when the country was caught off guard by the offensive of a coalition of Arab countries and saw its existence seriously threatened.
Just like on October 6, 1973, this Saturday’s attacks occurred during a religious holiday, Simchat Torah, and also exposed failures of Israeli intelligence services, which did not detect Hamas’ highly coordinated planning and movement to launch the offensive.
In recent days, the Israeli press was precisely remembering, through reports and testimonies, the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, which damaged the reputation of big names in Israeli politics and defense at the time.
The attack carried out by Hamas this Saturday is the largest against Israel since the 1973 conflict and marks the most ambitious offensive ever launched by a Palestinian group. Not even the bloody Second Intifada, in the early 2000s, was the scene of this type of mass incursion into Israeli territory.
However, 50 years ago, the conflict involved national states, with regular armies, supported by the superpowers of the time, the USA and USSR. The states that attacked Israel were, above all, driven by Arab nationalism, without a religious character, and wished to reverse previous defeats. This Saturday’s attack has as one of its protagonists a radical Islamic group considered terrorist by almost all Western nations and which lacks international recognition.
Offensive during holiday
In Israel, the biggest Jewish religious holiday is Yom Kippur, a day of complete tranquility and fasting: public transport stops, radio and television do not broadcast, and anyone who has a minimum of religious faith renounces food and drink. . The synagogues are fuller: it is the day to ask forgiveness for the big and small sins of the year that is ending.
This was also what was expected in 1973: on the eve of Yom Kippur, the country began the traditional religious retreat, and the border posts with the Palestinian territories were closed. However, unusual events occurred on October 6th. The fourth armed conflict in the Near East had begun, later called the Yom Kippur War.
Simultaneous attacks
Israel was completely surprised: at 2 pm the armies of Egypt and Syria attacked at the same time: the first, in the Suez Canal; the others, in the Golan Heights. The Syrians and Egyptians were assisted by Moroccan, Iraqi, Jordanian and Cuban expeditionary forces.
Five Egyptian divisions, with 70 thousand men, crossed the Suez Canal at several points and were able to easily defeat the approximately 500 Israeli soldiers who guarded the so-called Bar-Lev Line, on the eastern bank of the canal.
By the time reinforcement arrived from the interior of the country, the Egyptians had already expanded their bridgeheads and reconquered part of the Sinai Peninsula, which had been completely lost to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.
In the Golan Heights, also occupied by Israel since 1967, the war began with a massive attack by the Syrian air force and artillery. Shortly afterwards, armored divisions advanced with a total of 1,400 tanks, followed by two other divisions. The Israelis were also surprised in the Golan Heights, suffered serious losses and, mainly, had to evacuate the settlements built in the region since 1967.
Fighting in Syria
The Israelis almost lost control over the Golan Heights. Only on the third day of the war did the counteroffensive begin to be successful. The hills were reconquered in two days and, from the third day onwards, the theater of war was Syrian territory.
The Israelis advanced as far as Sasa, approximately 40 kilometers from Damascus. On the Egyptian front, forces commanded by General Ariel Sharon (who years later would become Prime Minister) crossed the Suez Canal and conquered the territory between the canal and the Suez-Cairo road. In this advance, the Egyptian Third Army was surrounded and isolated from the rest of the country.
The war lasted longer than previous ones. Among other things, because the superpowers supplied the warring parties with large quantities of weapons. The US rushed to Israel’s aid. The Soviet Union, in aid of Arab countries. The United Nations was only able to call for a truce on October 21 and 22.
The Yom Kippur War had far-reaching implications. The Arab world, which had suffered a humiliation in the 1967 war, was pleased with the initial successes in the 1973 conflict, despite the final tactical failure.
Furthermore, oil-producing countries in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, announced a boycott of fuel sales to countries that supported Israel in the conflict. The measure, which caused the price of oil to soar in the market, had profound economic implications in Western Europe and even in Brazil.
Difficult negotiations
On October 24, 1973, the fighting ended. Egypt had a total of 15 thousand victims; Syria, 3,000 and Israel, 2,500. The territorial situation was more confused than before. At the end of 1973, a UN peace conference was called in Geneva, two meetings of which resulted in nothing.
In difficult negotiations at kilometer 101 of the Suez-Cairo road, an agreement was reached to disengage the troops. At the beginning of 1974, Israel was withdrawing from the western bank of the Suez Canal.
Egypt was also retreating to its position before the start of the war. With Syria, negotiations were carried out through the mediation of the United States, represented by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Also in this case, an agreement was reached on the mutual disengagement of troops. In Sinai, UN troops were once again stationed. The United Nations Undof troops were sent to the Golan Heights with observers to comply with the agreement.
Search for those responsible
After the war, a systematic search for those responsible began in Israel. To this end, a commission of inquiry, the Agranat Commission, was established. It was soon established that the military intelligence service and also the politicians had failed: the war preparations of the Egyptians and Syrians had been observed since 1972, but were always interpreted as military maneuvers or simulation.
Israel was too sure of its own strength, both of the superiority of its own troops and of the defense installations in the Suez Canal.
The chief of staff of the Israeli Armed Forces, David Elazar, wanted to mobilize troops before the start of the war, but politicians vetoed it. They did not believe in a war and did not want, with mobilization, to increase the prevailing tension.
Prime Minister Golda Meir and her Defense Minister Moshe Dayan have resigned. The reputation of Dayan, one of the heroes of the 1967 War, was severely damaged by the lack of readiness in the 1973 conflict. Elazar also went into reserve. They never recovered from their initial failure in the Yom Kippur War.
Implications
But this war also opened the doors to political efforts: both sides saw themselves as winners and thus with equal rights. The Israelis also recognized that despite battlefield victories, there was no guarantee that their forces would always be able to militarily defeat the Arab states, as had been the case in previous conflicts.
With this, at least Egypt and Israel were finally willing to make a peace agreement, the so-called Camp David Accords, which were mediated by the USA and included the return of Sinai to the Egyptians and Cairo’s recognition of the legitimacy of Israel’s existence. Since then, relations between Egypt and Israel have normalized. And the open conflict with Syria has at least not seen any similar escalation, despite ongoing tensions.
jps (DW)
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