Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, the day that Israel was attacked in 1973 by a surprise on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar by Egypt and Syria. The anniversary of the Yom Kippur War was commemorated across Israel in many ceremonies to remember the 2000+ soldiers who died in the war as well as a last minute military drill to ensure Israel is still prepared to defend itself from a potential threat.

The Yom Kippur War began as a coordinated attack by Syria and Egypt and supported by Jordan and Iraq as a way to regain the territories captured by Israel 6 years earlier in the 6 Day War of 1967. Egptian forces crossed the ceasefire lines of the Suez canal whilst Syria began advancements into the Golan Heights in the north. Although being caught totally off guard due to the Yom Kippur holiday, within three weeks Israeli forces had managed to push back the Egyptians to within 100km of Cairo and 40km of Damascus and held on to its territory that was the war aims of the aggressors to recapture.



Thirty-eight years later, the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War is still fresh in the minds of Israelis and this year, following the turmoil in the region recently, a last minute emergency military drill has been conducted to ensure the IDF is still prepared for a surprise attack, should one be on the cards from its neighbours. Despite the solid cold-peace between Israel and Egypt that resulted from the war, that peace is now looking quite fragile following recent developments on Israel's southern border with Egypt.


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