Suez Canal Air War Rages On, with Air Attacks by Both Sides

The Suez Canal air war, which entered a new phase a week ago with the Israeli occupation of Egyptian-held Green Island, continued to rage this weekend as Israeli pilots pressed their fourth and fifth bombing and strafing attacks on enemy ground positions. Egyptian planes today made their third strike in a week in the Israel-held Sinai, wounding seven soldiers, one seriously, in a bombing raid. Israel did not report any challenges in the air.

Israel warplanes delivered a 90-minute assault against Egyptian artillery emplacements Saturday, directing their bombs between Qantara and the areas around Port Tewfik and Ismailia. A day earlier, Israeli jets bombed and strafed artillery positions between Qantara and Port Said, a military spokesman said.

All planes returned safely to base in both operations, a military communique said. Egypt claimed it shot down a total of six planes, allegedly bringing to 34 the number of Israeli aircraft downed in the last month. Israel reports only two were lost in action earlier this week when its jets began bombing Egyptian positions at the Canal for the first time since the 1967 war.

Egypt has lost 12 fighters and bombers and has suffered heavy losses in casualties and equipment, Israel reports. Israel reported seven injuries and two deaths of soldiers as a result of battles on the ground this weekend. Egyptian fighter planes went aloft Saturday but did not engage Israeli aircraft, a military spokesman said here.

The Israelis are sending their jets against Egyptian positions as a tactical move to neutralize artillery and other positions and as a strategic effort to stymie any large scale operation, possibly a crossing of the Canal, that Egypt might be planning.

In other action, Israeli jets conducted air strikes against Jordanian Army positions on Friday and Saturday. Arab guerrillas blew up a power line at the Nahal Oz settlement which carried electricity to Gaza City. Israeli and Jordanian forces fought a tank and machine gun battle south of the Sea of Galilee. A number of Katyusha rockets were fired Friday at the Yardena settlement in the Beisan Valley, slightly injuring a girl. Fire from a recoilless rifle was opened from a Syrian position against Israelis on the Golan Heights. There were no Israeli casualties reported.

An Arab saboteur was killed in a clash with an Israeli unit near Umm Sidra pass on the Jordan-River. There were no casualties among the Israeli troops. A tractor driver was injured slightly when his tractor hit a mine near Neve Urr in the Beisan Valley. Officials also reported that a small bomb exploded this morning in the Jezreel Valley near a small airstrip used for farm-spraying planes. The bomb was hidden near the offices of the company which operates the planes. The blast caused neither damages nor casualties.

A military spokesman reports that the new “active defense” along the Canal has generated a number of problems for the Egyptian forces, among them growing desertions by soldiers. The latest Egyptian air attack was seen as a morale-boosting measure.

Lt. Gen. Haim Bar-Lev, the Army Chief of Staff, said in an interview on the Army radio station that the new tactics were aimed at teaching the Egyptians that they were far from ready for war and to increase pressure on them in order to bring about a reduction in tension. Last week’s military operations, he said, were designed to show the Egyptians that “their activity was costing them dearly and would continue to cost them dearly.” Despite the shooting down of two Israeli aircraft, there has been no improvement in the Egyptian Air Force, Gen. Bar-Lev said.