Operation Egged ( he, מִבְצָע אֶגֶד), also known as the Kuntilla operation, was an Israeli military operation carried out on night of October 28–29, 1955 that targeted an Egyptian military post at Kuntilla, located in northeastern Sinai. The operation was a success and resulted in the destruction of the post. Twelve Egyptian soldiers were killed and twenty-nine were taken prisoner. There were two Israeli fatalities.

Background

On October 26, 1955 Egyptian forces raided a small Israeli outpost at Be'erotayim, located in the southern sector of the Nitzana/El-Auja demilitarized zone. One

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

(IDF) soldier was killed and two were captured.Ze'ev Drory, Israel's reprisal policy, 1953–1956: the dynamics of military retaliation, Frank Cass (2005) p. 145 Concurrent with this action, sizable Egyptian forces took control of positions in the southern corner of the Demilitarized Zone near El-Sabcha. Elements of this force also penetrated one kilometer into Israeli territory and occupied positions near a strategic hill, which the Israelis code-named "Lilly".

The battle

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) du ...

, Israel’s Chief of Staff, authorized an immediate retaliation for the Egyptian border transgression but in an entirely different sector. The chosen target was an Egyptian military post near Kuntilla, one-hundred miles south of the Demilitarized Zone. On the night of October 28–29, 1955 two-hundred paratroopers commanded by

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

attacked the Kuntilla post killing twelve Egyptian soldiers and capturing twenty-nine others. The post was leveled. Two Israeli soldiers, Yaakov Mizrahi and Amnon Abukai, were killed. Both were issued posthumous medals (Mizrahi for "Valor" and Abukai for "Courage") for their daring conduct during the assault.

Aftermath

Operation Egged merely served as a diversion for the main Israeli assault which was ultimately directed at Egyptian positions in and around El-Sachba. The ruse worked. On the night of November 2–3, Israel initiated Operation Volcano. Israeli paratroopers as well as additional infantry from the Golani and

Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...

Brigades attacked Egyptian positions at El-Sabcha, killing eighty-one Egyptian soldiers and capturing fifty-five others. Following the Sabcha operation, there were no more Egyptian incursions into the Demilitarized Zone.Walter Eytan, The First Ten Years: A Diplomatic History of Israel, Simon & Schuster (1958), p. 34

References

{{reflist Israel Defense Forces Special forces of Israel Reprisal operations (Israel) Ariel Sharon Arab–Israeli conflict 1955 in Israel 1955 in Egypt Conflicts in 1955