YOM
KIPPUR WAR - INTERNATIONAL
News: What
was the Yom Kippur war, and why is the Hamas attack on Israel being compared to
it
What's in the news?
●
The Yom Kippur war or the
Ramadan war was fought between Israel on
one side and Egypt and Syria on the other. While Israel was able to stem
the joint attack, its reputation was still dented in the war.
Yom Kippur War:
●
The Yom Kippur war, or
the October war, or the Ramadan war, was fought between Israel on one side and
Egypt and Syria on the other, from October
6 to 25, 1973.
○ Yom
Kippur is the holiest day in Judaism and
Samaritanism.
○ It
is also known as the Day of Atonement.
It is observed on the 10th day of the lunar month of Tishri, which falls in
September or early October.
○ It
is also called the Fourth Arab-Israeli
war, coming after three wars in 1949, 1956, and 1967.
Backdrop:
●
After its decisive
victory in the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel had acquired an aura of
invincibility.
●
It also captured
territories from its neighbors, including the Golan Heights from Syria and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.
●
Six years later, the two
countries launched a coordinated attack on Israel.
●
While Israel was aware of
troop mobilization, it had not expected an attack in the Holy Islamic month of
Ramadan.
●
Caught by surprise,
Israel took time to mobilize its own soldiers, many of whom were on leave for
Yom Kippur.
●
Thus, initially, both
Syria and Egypt made some gains.
Aftermath:
●
Israel was able to stem
the advance on both Syrian and Egyptian sides after three days and soon
launched its own counter-strikes.