 Sharon renewed his division's attack that day, moving north from Serabaeum on a three brigade front, with Matt on the right, Erez in the center, and Reshef on the left. The advance spanned the entire area between the Suez Canal on the east and the Sweetwater Canal on the west. By dawn, both Touscan and Ain Ghasin were under attack. The 89th Battalion had concentrated all its forces at the Touscan strong point, where it was hard-pressed by superior Israeli armored and mechanized forces. Azmy reported the situation to Second Army headquarters, and requested permission to detonate a nearby bridge on the Sweetwater Canal and flood the area before the advancing Israelis. Khalil however issued strict orders not to do so, since the canal was a crucial source of drinking water to civilians all the way up to Suez city. The situation was deteriorating for the paratroopers however, and Azmy soon had the bridge destroyed and broke down sections of nearby irrigation canals, flooding the entire area and submerging Israeli tanks up to their hulls in muddy water. This led to the paratroopers of Matt's brigade spearheading the advance in the center instead, while the armored brigades were forced to have their mechanized infantry push ahead on foot. The Touscan position remained under heavy air and artillery attack, and by midday it was surrounded. Losses due to death and injury left the battalion with some 120 paratroopers still able to fight.
