THE END OF THE 1967 SIX-DAY WAR LEFT ISRAELI FORCES ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE SUEZ CANAL AND EGYPTIAN FORCES ON THE WEST SIDE, BUT THERE WAS NO PEACE AGREEMENT, ONLY AN INFORMAL CEASEFIRE.
On March 8, 1969, a frustrated Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser declared an end to the ceasefire and started the “War of Attrition.” Egyptian artillery began a heavy bombardment of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions on the eastern side of the canal with the hope of forcing the Israeli government into concessions or a withdrawal. The IDF artillery was no match for the Egyptians, so the Israelis responded with heavy Israeli Air Force (IAF) strikes on Egyptian artillery and military positions along the canal.
Egyptian MiGs tried to stop the attacks, but their poorly trained pilots were decimated by the well-trained Israelis flying French-built delta-wing Mirage IIIs—“Triangles.” The Egyptians began to move SA-2 surface-to-air missiles close to the canal to protect their artillery, prompting the IAF to launch a series of attacks against the SAM sites.
On September 5, 1969, the first F-4E Phantom IIs arrived in Israel from the United States. The Phantom—quickly dubbed the “Hammer” by the IAF—brought a new dimension to the conflict as it took over most of the attacks on the missile sites. By late November 1969, the SAMs had been neutralized and, for the next four months, the Egyptians did not attempt to advance any more missiles toward the canal.
But the Egyptians showed no willingness to negotiate. Israel escalated the air war beginning in January 1970 with Operation (Blossom), as Phantoms began to fly bombing raids deep into Egypt to attack strategic targets such as the Egyptian commando headquarters. The Israelis hoped the
