Israeli Jets Hit Saboteur Base; 3 Soldiers Die, 4 Wounded in Fighting at Canal

Israeli Air Force planes attacked tonight a saboteur base about a mile east of the Jordan River opposite Kfar Ruppin in the Beisan Valley. Officials said the action lasted 15 minutes and all planes returned safely to bases.

On Israel’s other main front, two Israeli soldiers were mortally wounded in an Egyptian mortar attack in the Qantar area in the Suez Canal zone. Another soldier was wounded in a virtual day-long artillery duel today across the Canal. An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday when his vehicle was hit north of Qantara by an Egyptian anti-tank shell. Three other soldiers were wounded in an artillery duel yesterday. Israel blamed Egypt for starting the exchange.

One saboteur was killed last night when he tried to blow up a field shed in the Golan Heights. Four mines, hand grenades and a Soviet-made rifle were found on his body. Previously Israel had reported that three guerrillas were killed yesterday north of the Damiya bridge in the Jordan Valley, after they were observed fording the Jordan River. No Israeli casualties were reported in that encounter. A curfew was imposed last night in Jenin on the West Bank after two Israelis were injured by bullets fired at them as they rode Jenin’s main road.

Reports from the Egyptian port of Suez indicated today that the Egyptians were dismantling the two large refineries in the area which were severely damaged in recent artillery duels along the Canal. The two refineries, El Nassar and Suez, reportedly had been refining 80 percent of Egypt’s oil consumption. Officials said that it appeared the Egyptians had decided to move the refineries farther inside Egypt and out of range of Israeli artillery. Sources here said that the action may indicate a belief among Egyptian officials that the current war-no war situation along the Suez Canal will last indefinitely.