Four Israelis, including at least one woman, were killed today and nine others wounded when a passenger bus travelling in a motor convoy was attacked from ambush north of Beer Menucha, not far from the Jordan border in the southern Negev.
Israel immediately protested to Maj. Gen. E.L.M. Burns, chief of staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, against this new surge of Egyptian aggression. In another incident near Sdeh Boker, also in the Negev, five Israelis were wounded when an automobile in which they were travelling hit a landmine planted by infiltrators.
The protest to Gen. Burns stressed the “particular gravity of the situation”. The note, sent by the Foreign Ministry, detailed all incidents involving Egyptian aggression since July 26.
The ambushed bus was en route to Eilat when the air was suddenly filled with bullets as concealed heavy machine guns burst into action. Three of the nine wounded people were seriously injured. Three of the fatalities were among soldiers of the convoy. The three seriously wounded Israelis were flown to Lydda and removed to a hospital, still wearing their bloodsoaked clothing.
In Jerusalem, meanwhile, United Nations personnel living with their families in the Jordan held portion of the city, evacuated their families in anticipation of demonstrations in Jordan protesting the holding of the London Conference on Egypt’s nationalization of the Suez Canal Company. UN vehicles were also moved out of Jordan. Some of the personnel were moved to UN headquarters in no man’s land and others to a German hospice inside Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
