Operation Dawn (1967)
Operation Dawn was an Egyptian military operation planned to strike the Israeli Air Force, in the prelude to what would become the Six-Day War. The Egyptian attack plan was to involve strategic bombing of major ports, the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona, airfields and cities. Arab armies would then attack, effectively cutting Israel in half with an armoured thrust from northern Sinai via the Negev desert.[1]
Nasser had provoked Israel when he closed the Straits of Tiran. He was intent on getting revenge for previous military defeats. The army had been mobilized in the Sinai desert, and was poised to launch what he called "the operation that will surprise the world". The operation was set to take place on May 27th, 1967.Abdel Hakim Amer, an Egyptian general, planned the operation. [2]
According to Michael Oren, Operation Dawn was called off after Nasser was informed by Russia that the US was aware of the plan. [3]
Israel sent urgent messages to the United States on May 25th, 1967, saying an Egyptian attack on Israel was imminent. The White House ordered an intelligence assessment, which found the Israeli claims unfounded. [4]
According to John Quigley, there is thin evidence that there was any Egyptian plan to attack Israel that would actually have been carried out. [5]
Some Israelis claimed that they knew from "Egyptian uncovered documents" that there was an Egyptian plan to attack and cut off Negev, capture Eilat, and make occupied land contiguous to Jordan.[6]
References
- ↑ The Six Day War
- ↑ The Six Day War
- ↑ Michael Oren's Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
- ↑ "1967", by Tom Segev (kindle location 4966)
- ↑ "The Six-Day War and Israel Self-Defense", John Quigley, p. 34 (Cambridge University Press)
- ↑ Why Diplomacy Failed to Avert the Six Day War