Israeli Commandos Strike Power Lines and Bridges Deep in Southern Egypt

Israeli commando units struck deep into southern Egypt today to smash an upper Nile River dam, bridges and high tension wires that carry electric power to Cairo. A military spokesman said damage was extensive and could have been even greater because the commandos encountered no opposition. All participants in the raid returned safely to their bases, he said. Premier Golda Meir said the raids were in retaliation for recent Egyptian commando forays against Israeli positions on the east bank of the Suez Canal. They were the second Israeli commando strikes into the heart of Egypt since Nov. 1, 1968 when troops struck a power station and bridge near Naj Hammadi, 280 miles south of Cairo.

A military spokesman listed today’s targets as the Naj Hammadi dam and bridge which span the Upper Nile; the Idfu Bridge, linking the Red Sea with the Wadi Halfa farming area; and a cluster of pylons and power lines between Isna and Naj Hammadi that carry 500,000-volt loads to Cairo. The target areas were about 60 miles north of the Aswan High Dam and about 290 miles south of the capital. Israeli sources said one span of the dam was destroyed causing extensive flooding and that the raids caused an electric power failure in Cairo.

Egypt said today that Israeli planes attempted to bomb Naj Hammadi and Idfu villages but were driven off by anti-aircraft fire. The official Government spokesman, Mohamed H. al-Zayyat called the air attacks a “miserable failure” and said no damage was suffered by Egyptian installations, and that there was no Cairo power failure.

Military sources here said the motivations for today’s raids were clearly outlined in Mrs. Meir’s statement that the strikes were intended to “remind” Egypt of its responsibility to live up to the cease-fire agreements. The raids were also apparently intended to demonstrate to Cairo the vulnerability of southern Egypt and the Upper Nile Valley.

An Israeli spokesman stressed that not a shot was fired in the entire operation, indicating that Cairo’s much publicized civil defense forces and regional gendarmerie either did not exist or were impotent. Military sources would give no hint about how the Israeli commandos reached their targets.

It was believed, however, that at least part of the striking force was helicopter-borne as in last November’s raids. The distance from Ras-Mohammad, the southern most point on the Sinai Peninsula, to Idfu is nearly 200 miles. The raiders apparently made an air jump across the Red Sea. The Naj Hammadi dam, which was apparently the principle target, is 880 yards long, 20 yards wide and has a lock to permit the passage of river craft.

The first announcement of the raids came in a statement from the Premier’s office released at 3 a.m. local time. It noted that “for some time now Egypt has been violating her obligations to abide by the cease-fire agreement” and cited almost continual shelling across the Suez Canal, sniping and mine-laying expeditions by Egyptian units in Israel-held territory.

The statement said these “acts of aggression represent an advanced stage of Egypt’s premeditated war against Israel” and noted that “members of the UN staff, having been wounded a number of times themselves, have repeatedly confirmed the fact that fire was initiated by the Egyptians.” The statement said the Egyptian assaults have not undermined Israeli positions but “represent an uninterrupted provocation, any acceptance of which is interpreted by Egyptian authorities as encouragement for further and more serious acts of aggression.”