An Israeli civilian was killed today and three others were seriously injured when a bus was hit by explosives while traveling on a road from Samakh, on the southeast corner of the Sea of Galilee, to El Hamma in the southern Golan Heights. A number of other passengers were reported slightly injured. One Israeli soldier was wounded by a sniper in the Suez Canal zone today and another suffered wounds in a clash with Syrian forces using recoilless guns in the Golan Heights.
Fighting was reported along the Suez Canal and across the Israel-Jordan border near the Dead Sea yesterday. A saboteur was killed while trying to cross the Jordan River into Israeli territory in the same area. An Israeli soldier was wounded in a small arms duel along the southern section of the Jordan River. Jordanian forces fired several mortar shells and small arm at an Israeli patrol near Ashdod Yaacov in the Beisan Valley this morning. Israeli forces returned the fire. There were no Israeli casualties, a military spokesman said.
Three Israeli soldiers were injured when an Army vehicle struck a mine northeast of Qantara on the Suez Canal today. Another Israeli soldier was wounded during artillery and small arms exchanges along the waterway yesterday. A military spokesman said the Egyptians started the attacks north of Qantara and later opened fire near the south end of the canal as well. The Egyptians used anti-tank missiles in addition to artillery.
A Jordanian spokesman claimed that 20 Israeli soldiers were killed or wounded in artillery battles across the Jordan yesterday. He also claimed the destruction of two tanks, five trucks and a military tractor.
An Israeli official said today that the Egyptian Army has been placed on a war footing and that Israeli forces along the Suez Canal were prepared for any contingency. One observer said that if the Egyptians attempted to cross the canal in force they would do so through the salt marshes near Qantara, about 25 miles south of Port Said, where the Israelis would be unable to use tanks. The observer said the Egyptians might depend on their superior numbers to gain a salient on the canal’s east bank.
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.
