The Prelude: Rising Tensions

By early 1967, tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors reached a breaking point. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, emboldened by Soviet military aid, ordered the UN peacekeeping force out of the Sinai Peninsula and massed 100,000 troops on Israel's border. Syria and Jordan, allied with Egypt, mobilized their forces. Israeli intelligence concluded that war was inevitable and determined to strike first, believing that control of the air would be decisive. Israeli Air Force Commander Mordechai Hod refined a plan called Operation Priha (Priha means 'Bloom'), designed to achieve air superiority through surprise.

The Strike: June 5, 1967

At 7:45 AM on June 5, 1967, Israeli Mirage and Super Mystère fighters attacked Egyptian airfields at Inchas, Bir Tamada, Cairo West, and others in waves. Flying low under Arab radar detection and exploiting the early morning when Egyptian pilots were not on alert, Israeli jets destroyed bombers and fighters on the ground. Within 120 minutes, the Israeli Air Force had destroyed approximately 200 Egyptian aircraft, many before they could take off. The Egyptian air force was decapitated. Israel then turned on Syria and Jordan. By 10:30 AM, Israeli fighters had destroyed 62 Syrian jets at Dumeir airfield and other bases. Jordan's small air force of 28 fighters was nearly annihilated. In less than three hours, Israel had achieved complete air superiority.

Consequences and Blitzkrieg

With enemy air power neutralized, Israeli ground forces advanced rapidly. In the Sinai, Israeli armored columns pushed Egyptian forces into chaotic retreat. The Golan Heights fell after fierce fighting on June 9. West Bank cities including East Jerusalem fell to Israeli paratroopers and mechanized infantry. By June 10, when a ceasefire took effect, Israel had captured the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights in just six days. Arab casualties exceeded 20,000 killed; Israel lost approximately 800 soldiers.

Strategic Lessons

The Six-Day War demonstrated that in modern warfare, air superiority is not merely important—it is frequently decisive. Israel's willingness to preempt, combined with superior training, tactical innovation, and strategic surprise, produced a military outcome that reordered the Middle East for decades. The war created a refugee crisis, strengthened Palestinian nationalism, and planted seeds of resentment that would fuel conflicts for generations. Yet from a purely military standpoint, the Six-Day War remains a textbook example of how intelligence, surprise, and air power can achieve strategic objectives.