Week-end Battles Between Israeli and Egyptian Forces Fiercest Since 1967 War

Israeli fighters shot down two Egyptian MIG-21s in an aerial dogfight over the Nile delta this morning. Israeli jets staged a 50 minute raid on Egyptian artillery emplacements and bunkers in the southern sector of the Suez Canal zone this afternoon. All Israeli planes returned safely to their bases. Egyptian aircraft made hit-and-run attacks on Israeli positions in the canal zone this morning and this afternoon without causing casualties or damage. The morning attack occurred over the Firdan bridge near the canal’s midpoint. In the afternoon, two Egyptian jets dropped bombs near the southern end of the waterway and fled, a military spokesman said.

The air battle and bombing raids climaxed a week-end of the most savage fighting between Israeli and Egyptian forces since the June, 1967 war. The air battle took place over the delta. An Israeli military spokesman said a number of Egyptian planes engaged a number of Israeli planes at medium altitude. Two Egyptian MIGs were hit by aerial cannon fire. One exploded in mid-air and the other crashed in flames. The pilot of the latter was seen bailing out. According to an Israeli spokesman, Israeli forces suffered only three casualties during the entire week-end of fighting. Corp. Itzhak Mashiah, 20, was killed and two other soldiers were wounded in a heavy artillery exchange between Israeli and Egyptian forces in the southern section of the canal zone on Friday.

ESCALATION BEGAN FRIDAY WHEN ISRAELI NAVAL VESSEL SUNK BY EGYPTIAN FROGMEN

The escalation began on Friday when Egyptian frogmen sank an Israeli naval auxiliary vessel in Eilat harbor and damaged an Israeli landing craft. Within hours, Israeli jets attacked and sank a 700 ton Russian-built Egyptian mine-layer in the Gulf of Suez, pounded Egyptian positions in the northern section of the Suez Canal zone and ranged at will over Egyptian territory to blast military encampments and ammunition dumps in the Nile Valley and Nile Delta. This morning Israeli jets struck at military targets near Port Suez at the canal’s southern entrance, scored direct hits on an Egyptian ammunition dump near the industrial town of Helouan and smashed installations at the Imshas Army camp 16 miles north of Cairo. A military spokesman said all Israeli planes returned safely from all actions.

Gen. Haim Bar Lev, Chief of Staff of Israel’s armed forces, said in a radio interview Saturday that Israel and Egypt are now engaged in an all-out war. Gen. Bar Lev said “one cannot speak any longer of action and reaction, strike and retaliation. Each of the two countries is using all means at its disposal on the military level.” He said the sinking of the Egyptian mine-layer was not entirely an act of retaliation for Egypt’s attack on the Eilat naval base, although the vessel might have been spared if the Eilat attack had not taken place. The Soviet-built mine-layer, of the T-43 type, normally carries a crew of 80 and is armed with double gun turrets. It was sighted off the Egyptian naval base of Ghardaka in the Gulf of Suez and was shadowed by Israeli jets for two hours before the attack. Direct hits were scored despite evasive action taken by the vessel.

Gen. Bar Lev said “We will hit them by all means and in all places that are to our advantage and will continue doing so until Egypt returns to the cease-fire status.” The Israeli Chief of Staff said the Egyptian assault on Eilat was an attempt by President Gamal Abdel Nasser to impress the leaders of four Arab countries who convened in Cairo Friday to coordinate battle plans against Israel. King Hussein of Jordan, President Noureddin Al-Atassi, of Syria and delegations from Iraq and the Sudan were meeting in the Egyptian capital as Israeli bombs rained down on targets 16 miles away. The targets included the Asyut Army camp in the Nile Valley where Egypt has a huge arms store and the Tel El Kebir camp on the Ismailia-Cairo road.

A group of top military leaders, headed by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, hurried to Eilat for firsthand reports of the frogmen attack. Others present were Gen. Bar Lev. Navy Commander Botzer and Gen. Aric Sharon, southern command head, Gen. Dayan said there was always a possibility of penetration of the Eilat port area, despite precautions and that he was convinced that “there was no negligence” on the part of the guards. He noted that there had been a similar attack on two merchant ships in the Eilat harbor two months ago. He reiterated that the latest act was a military action against a military target but that if the Egyptians enlarged their attacks to hit civilian targets then “the Egyptians and we shall see ourselves in quite another position.” He said Israel has no policy of “an eye for an eye” and that “we will hit when and where we choose until the Egyptians return to the status of cease-fire.” He announced a thorough investigation would be held to seek to determine who planted the devices on the two naval vessels, where the frogmen came from and when.