by Jonathan Ruhe and Ari Cicurel The War of Attrition with Egypt, referred to in Arabic as the War of Bloodshed, raged across the Suez Canal from 1968-70. As the names suggest, Egypt sought to bleed Israel, thereby reducing Jerusalem’s territorial conquests and military superiority from the 1967 Six-Day War.
On paper, Israel won the War of Attrition on the battlefield and in the ceasefire, which left the IDF in place along the canal. But actual victory proved elusive. The conflict ate away at some of Israel’s critical military advantages from the Six-Day War, particularly combat aircraft, and did little to prepare Israel for the 1973 Yom Kippur War that was around the corner.
