The Six-Day War of June 1967 remains one of the most consequential military conflicts in modern Middle Eastern history. This brief but devastating war reshaped regional borders, altered geopolitical alliances, and created tensions that continue to influence international relations today. The conflict’s dramatic events unfolded with breathtaking speed, revealing the complex interplay between military strategy, political calculation, and historical destiny.
The Gathering Storm: Origins of the Conflict
The roots of the 1967 war stretched back nearly two decades to the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent Arab-Israeli conflicts. By May 1967, tensions had reached a boiling point as Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser mobilized forces in the Sinai Peninsula, expelled UN peacekeepers, and blockaded Israel’s access to the Red Sea through the Straits of Tiran. These aggressive moves created what Israeli leaders perceived as an existential threat.
Jordan’s King Hussein found himself in a precarious position. Though initially reluctant to join Egypt’s military buildup, Arab nationalist pressure and fears of appearing weak forced him into a defense pact with Nasser. This decision would have catastrophic consequences for his kingdom. Meanwhile, Syria’s radical Ba’athist regime escalated border incidents with Israel, further raising tensions across the region.
Israeli military planners, led by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin, recognized they faced a multi-front war against numerically superior enemies. Their strategy relied on preemptive action to neutralize the most immediate threats before Arab forces could coordinate their attacks. The stage was set for a conflict that would last less than a week but whose repercussions would endure for generations.
Lightning Strikes: The War’s Dramatic Opening Moves
At 7:45 AM on June 5, 1967, Israel launched Operation Focus, a devastating surprise air attack that destroyed nearly the entire Egyptian air force on the ground within three hours. This bold preemptive strike gave Israel immediate air superiority, a decisive advantage that would shape the entire course of the war.
The Egyptian high command descended into chaos as news of the disaster spread. Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, Egypt’s defense minister and Nasser’s close associate, exhibited erratic behavior that alarmed his subordinates. Soviet advisors and Egyptian diplomats desperately sought accurate information about the military situation, but found themselves stonewalled by a leadership in denial about the scale of their losses.
Meanwhile, Jordanian forces in Jerusalem opened artillery fire on Israeli positions, drawing Israel into combat on a second front. Dayan, initially reluctant to engage Jordan, now faced the reality of two-front warfare. The strategic situation in Jerusalem grew increasingly dire as 118 Israeli soldiers became trapped on Mount Scopus, surrounded by Jordanian forces. Dayan made the fateful decision to redeploy the 55th Paratroop Brigade from their planned drop in the Sinai to the Jerusalem front, setting the stage for one of the war’s most dramatic battles.
The Battle for Jerusalem: Urban Combat and Historic Decisions
On the night of June 5-6, the hastily reassigned 55th Paratroop Brigade prepared for an operation they had never trained to execute – urban combat in Jerusalem’s labyrinthine streets. With inadequate maps and no familiarity with the terrain, the brigade’s officers had mere hours to plan a complex nighttime assault across the armistice line dividing the city.
The operation began with paratroopers advancing through pitch-black streets, their path illuminated only by narrow slits in covered headlights. At Samuel the Prophet Street, engineers blew passages through barbed wire and minefields, allowing Israeli forces to penetrate into East Jerusalem. What followed was brutal close-quarters fighting as Israeli units attacked Jordanian positions at Ammunition Hill, the Rockefeller Museum, and other strategic locations.
By dawn on June 6, Israeli forces had secured key positions around the Old City. For the first time in nearly two millennia, Jewish soldiers stood before the ancient walls containing Judaism’s holiest site – the Temple Mount. The emotional and historical significance of this moment was not lost on Israeli leaders. Politicians including Menachem Begin pleaded with Dayan to authorize the Old City’s capture, arguing that history would never forgive them if they missed this opportunity.
Dayan faced an agonizing decision. Militarily, the Old City could likely be taken, but the political and religious consequences gave him pause. The Temple Mount was sacred to Muslims as the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. Any damage to these shrines could inflame the entire Muslim world. Additionally, Dayan feared superpower intervention if Israel appeared too aggressive. Ultimately, he ordered forces to surround but not enter the Old City – for the moment.
The Propaganda War: Myths, Lies, and Geopolitics
As Israeli forces advanced on multiple fronts, Arab leaders confronted the embarrassing reality of their collapsing military position. Nasser and King Hussein devised a desperate strategy to explain their failures – blaming American and British intervention. On June 6, Arab radio stations began broadcasting fabricated accounts of U.S. and British aircraft carriers launching attacks alongside Israel.
These claims, though completely false, had immediate and dangerous consequences. Mobs attacked American diplomatic compounds across the Arab world. In Cairo, U.S. diplomats burned sensitive documents as rioters threatened to storm the embassy. Seven Arab states severed relations with Washington, while ten imposed oil embargoes on Western nations.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban worked tirelessly at the United Nations to present Israel’s case. His eloquent speeches contrasted sharply with Arab accusations, helping sway international opinion. Eban framed Israel’s actions as defensive measures against existential threats, citing the blockade of the Straits of Tiran as an act of war that no nation could tolerate.
The Collapse of Arab Forces and Superpower Intervention
The war’s turning point came on June 6 when Field Marshal Amer panicked and ordered a complete Egyptian withdrawal from the Sinai. This disastrous decision, made without proper planning or coordination, turned an orderly retreat into a rout. Thousands of Egyptian soldiers abandoned their positions and equipment, fleeing toward the Suez Canal. The chaotic scenes of retreat shocked even Israeli commanders, whose operational plans hadn’t anticipated such a rapid collapse.
As Arab forces disintegrated, the superpowers moved to contain the crisis. On June 6, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 233 calling for an immediate ceasefire. Israel and Jordan accepted, but Nasser – still believing he could salvage the situation – refused unless Israel withdrew completely from all captured territories. This rejection gave Israel crucial additional time to consolidate its gains.
On June 7, with Jordanian defenses crumbling, Dayan finally authorized the capture of Jerusalem’s Old City. Israeli troops entered through the Lion’s Gate, reaching the Western Wall in a moment of profound historical and religious significance. Paratrooper commander Mordechai Gur famously radioed: “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” For the first time since the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the heart of ancient Judaism lay under Jewish control.
The Aftermath and Enduring Legacy
By June 10, when a final ceasefire took effect, Israel had tripled its territory, capturing the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank (including East Jerusalem), and Golan Heights. The swift, decisive victory transformed Israel’s regional position but also created new challenges that persist today.
The war’s consequences were profound and far-reaching. Nasser’s prestige suffered a devastating blow, though he remained in power until his death in 1970. The Palestinian national movement gained new prominence as Israel assumed control over Palestinian populations in the newly occupied territories. The Soviet Union, humiliated by its Arab allies’ poor showing, dramatically increased military aid to rebuild their forces.
Perhaps most significantly, Israel’s capture of Jerusalem and the biblical heartlands of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) created an enduring dilemma. While fulfilling deep historical and religious aspirations, the occupation of Palestinian territories planted the seeds for future conflicts. The settlement movement that emerged after 1967 continues to shape Israeli politics and Israeli-Palestinian relations.
The Six-Day War demonstrated how quickly regional conflicts could escalate into superpower confrontations. It marked the beginning of a new era in Middle Eastern politics, one where military occupation, religious nationalism, and great power rivalry would combine to create one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. More than half a century later, the war’s legacy continues to influence every aspect of life in the region, from the status of Jerusalem to the future of Palestinian statehood.
The lightning campaign of June 1967 remains a case study in military effectiveness, political miscalculation, and the unpredictable consequences of war. Its lessons about the dangers of brinkmanship, the power of historical narratives, and the limits of military victory continue to resonate in today’s troubled Middle East.