The Israeli ship “Dolphine” passed the Gulf of Akaba today towards the port of Eilat under an Israeli flag, while life began returning to normal throughout Israel. Military activity along all the battle lines came to a halt although Israeli security forces continued with measures aimed at cleaning up sniper activity and small pockets of resistance within the territory newly occupied by Israel.
The nightly blackout imposed since the hostilities broke out last Monday was partially lifted in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa but can be instantly restored by the use of central controls in any of the cities. Street lights went on in all cities and neon signs in shops and cafes invited the public to resume purchases of consumer goods and to patronize various places of entertainment. For the first time since the start of the war, movie theaters opened up and were immediately filled with patrons.
The majority of the Israelis filling the streets in the cities are now khaki-clad soldiers. many of them carrying newly-acquired souvenirs of last week’s campaigns in Sinai, Jordan or Syria. Mingling among the crowds are Israeli soldiers wearing Jordanian officers’ caps or Syrian Army jackets. In contrast to the general feeling of joy and relief at the resounding victories over the Arab forces were those Israeli families whose dear ones were lost in battle.
Life in the areas newly occupied by Israeli forces was also beginning to return to normal today with the curfew lifted for the first time in the city of Gaza where the civilian population was allowed to go out to purchase essential commodities. Electric power was restored today in the Old City of Jerusalem and work was speeded on repairing the water supply system.
Israeli settlements along the Syrian border, free of the danger of shelling for the first time in years, began the task of repairs and reconstruction from the damage inflicted by Syrian shelling in the final days of the hostilities. The Israeli Navy, meanwhile, announced significant victories with the disclosure that two Egyptian submarines and a number of Egyptian Russian-built missile boats had been sunk and damage inflicted on port and naval installations in Alexandria and Port Said.
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.
