War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( " Ḥarb al - Istinzāf " , " Milhemet haHatashah " ) was a war fought between Israel and Egypt from 1967 to 1970 . Following the 1967 Six - Day War , there were no serious diplomatic efforts to resolve the issues at the heart of the Arab - Israeli conflict . In September 1967 , Arab states formulated the " Three No ' s " policy , barring peace , recognition or negotiations with Israel . Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser believed only military initiative would compel Israel or the international community to force a full Israeli withdrawal from Sinai , and hostilities soon resumed along the Suez Canal . These initially took the form of limited artillery duels and small scale incursions into Sinai , but by 1969 the Egyptian Army was prepared for larger scaled operations . On March 8 , 1969 , Nasser proclaimed the official launch of the War of Attrition , characterized by large scale shelling along the Suez Canal , extensive aerial warfare and commando raids . Hostilities continued until August 1970 and ended with a ceasefire , the frontiers remaining the same as when the war began , with no real commitment to serious peace negotiations . Egyptian front . Israel ' s victory in the Six - Day War left the entirety of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula up to the eastern bank of the Suez Canal under Israeli control . Egypt was determined to regain Sinai , and also sought to mitigate the severity of its defeat . Sporadic clashes were taking place along the cease - fire line , and Egyptian missile boats sank the Israeli destroyer INS " Eilat " on October 21 of the same year . Egypt began shelling Israeli positions along the Bar Lev Line , using heavy artillery , MiG aircraft and various other forms of Soviet assistance with the hope of forcing the Israeli government into concessions . Israel responded with aerial bombardments , airborne raids on Egyptian military positions , and aerial strikes against strategic facilities in Egypt . The international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict . The Jarring Mission of the United Nations was supposed to ensure that the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242 would be observed , but by late 1970 it was clear that this mission had been a failure . Fearing the escalation of the conflict into an " East vs . West " confrontation during the tensions of the mid - Cold War , the American President , Richard Nixon , sent his Secretary of State , William Rogers , to formulate the Rogers Plan in view of obtaining a ceasefire . In August 1970 , Israel , Jordan , and Egypt agreed to an " in place " ceasefire under the terms proposed by the Rogers Plan . The plan contained restrictions on missile deployment by both sides , and required the cessation of raids as a precondition for peace . The Egyptians and their Soviet allies rekindled the conflict by violating the agreement shortly thereafter , moving their missiles near to the Suez Canal , and constructing the largest anti - aircraft system yet implemented at that point in history . The Israelis responded with a policy which their Prime Minister , Golda Meir , dubbed “ asymmetrical response ” , wherein Israeli retaliation was disproportionately large in comparison to any Egyptian attacks . Following Nasser ’ s death in September 1970 , his successor , Anwar Al - Sadat , ceased current hostilities with Israel , focusing instead on rebuilding the Egyptian army and planning a full - scale attack on the Israeli forces controlling the eastern bank of the Suez Canal . These plans would materialize three years later in the 1973 Yom Kippur War . Ultimately , Israel would return Sinai to Egypt after the two nations signed a peace treaty . Various military historians have commented on the war with differing opinions . Chaim Herzog notes that Israel withstood the battle and adapted itself to a " hitherto alien type of warfare . " Zeev Schiff notes that though Israel suffered losses , she was still able to preserve her military accomplishments of 1967 and that despite increased Soviet involvement , Israel had stood firm . Simon Dunstan notes that despite the fact that Israel continued to hold the Bar Lev Line , the war ’ s conclusion " led to a dangerous complacency within the Israeli High Command about the resolve of the Egyptian armed forces and the strength of the Bar - Lev Line . " On the tactical level , Kenneth Pollack notes that Egypt ’ s commandos performed " adequately " though they rarely ventured into risky operations on a par with the daring of Israel ’ s commandos . Egypt ' s artillery corps encountered difficulty in penetrating the Bar - Lev forts and eventually adopted a policy of trying to catch Israeli troops in the exterior parts of the forts . The Egyptian Air Force and Air Defense Forces performed poorly . Egyptian pilots were rigid , slow to react and unwilling to improvise . According to U . S . intelligence estimates , Egypt lost 109 aircraft , most in air - to - air combat , against the loss of only 16 Israeli aircraft , most to anti - aircraft artillery or SAMs . It took a salvo of between 6 to 10 SA - 2 Egyptian anti - aircraft missiles to obtain a better than fifty percent chance of a hit . Timeline . July 1 , 1967 : An Israeli armored infantry company attacks an Egyptian force entrenched at Ras el ' Ish , located 10 miles south of Port Said . The Israeli company drives off the Egyptians but loses 1 dead and 13 wounded . However , another source claims that an Israeli attack on Port Fuad was repulsed . July 2 , 1967 : The Israeli Air Force bombs Egyptian artillery positions that had supported the commandos at Ras Al - ' Ish . July 4 , 1967 : Egyptian Air Force jets strike several Israeli targets in Sinai . An Egyptian MiG - 17 is shot down . July 8 , 1967 : An Egyptian Air Force MiG - 21 is shot down by Israeli air defenses while on a reconnaissance mission over el - Qanatra . Two Su - 7 s equipped with cameras are then sent out to carry out the mission , and manage to complete several turns over Sinai without any opposition . Two other Su - 7s are sent for another reconnaissance mission hours later , but are attacked by Israeli Air Force fighter jets . One Su - 7 is shot down . July 11 – 12 , 1967 : Battle of Rumani Coast - The Israeli Navy destroyer INS " Eilat and two torpedo boat s sink two Egyptian torpedo boats off the Rumani coast . No crewmen on the Egyptian torpedo boats are known to have survived , and there were no Israeli casualties . July 14 , 1967 : Artillery exchanges and aerial duels erupt near the Suez Canal . Seven Egyptian fighter aircraft are shot down . October 21 , 1967 : The Egyptian Navy sinks the Israeli destroyer INS " Eilat " , killing forty - seven sailors . October , 1967 : In retaliation to the sinking of the " Eilat " , Israeli artillery bombards oil refineries and depots near Suez . In a series of artillery exchanges throughout October , the Egyptians sustain civilian casualties . Egypt evacuates a large number of the civilian population in the canal region . 1968 . March 21 , 1968 : In response to persistent PLO raids against Israeli civilian targets , Israel attacks the town of Karameh , Jordan , the site of a major PLO camp , but is met with resistance by Jordanian and PLO forces . Despite hours of fighting , Israeli troops consolidate their hold on the Karameh camp with the aid of artillery and airstrikes , blowing up 175 houses . They then fight their way back to Israeli territory , taking with them as much military equipment as they can , along with 120 – 150 prisoners . Both sides suffered significant casualties and material losses , but Jordanian and PLO losses were far greater than Israel ' s . June 1968 : The war " officially " begins , with sparse Egyptian artillery bombardment of the Israeli front line on the east bank of the Suez Canal . More artillery bombardments in the following months cause Israeli casualties . September 8 , 1968 : An Egyptian artillery barrage kills 10 Israeli soldiers and injures 18 . Israel responds by shelling Suez and Ismaïlia . October 30 , 1968 : Israeli helicopter - borne Sayeret Matkal commandos carry out Operation Helem ( Shock ) , destroying an Egyptian electric transformator station , two dams along the Nile River and a bridge . The blackout causes Nasser to cease hostilities for a few months while fortifications around hundreds of important targets are built . Simultaneously , Israel reinforces its position on the east bank of the Suez Canal by construction of the Bar Lev Line . November 3 , 1968 : Egyptian MiG - 17s attack Israeli positions , and are met by Israeli interceptors . One Israeli plane is damaged . December 1 , 1968 : Israeli helicopter - borne commandos destroy four bridges near Amman , Jordan . December 3 , 1968 : The Israeli Air Force bombs PLO camps in Jordan . The Israeli jets are intercepted by Hawker Hunter s of the Royal Jordanian Air Force , and an Israeli fighter jet is damaged during the brief air battle . 1969 . March 8 , 1969 : Egypt strikes the Bar Lev Line with artillery fire and airstrikes , causing heavy casualties . Israel retaliates with raids deep into Egyptian territory , causing severe damage . March 9 , 1969 : The Egyptian Chief of Staff , Abdul Munim Riad , is killed in an Israeli mortar attack while visiting the front lines along the Suez Canal . May – July 1969 : Heavy fighting takes place between Israeli and Egyptian forces . Israel loses 47 dead and 157 wounded , while Egyptian casualties are far heavier . July 18 , 1969 : Egyptian commandos raid Israeli military installations in Sinai . July 19 – 20 , 1969 : Operation Bulmus 6 – Israeli Shayetet 13 and Sayeret Matkal commandos raid Green Island , resulting in the total destruction of the Egyptian facility . Six Israeli soldiers and 80 Egyptian soldiers are killed . Some Egyptian casualties are caused by their own artillery . July 20 – 28 , 1969 : Operation Boxer – Nearly the entire Israeli Air Force attacks the northern sector of the Canal , destroying anti - aircraft positions , tanks and artillery , and shooting down eight Egyptian aircraft . An estimated 300 Egyptian soldiers are killed . It also manages to reduce the artillery bombardment somewhat . However , shelling with lighter weapons , particularly mortars , continues . August 1969 : The Israeli Air Force flies about 1 , 000 combat sorties against Egypt , destroying dozens of SAM sites and shooting down 21 aircraft . Three Israeli aircraft are lost . September 9 , 1969 : Operation Raviv – Israeli forces raid Egypt ' s Red Sea coast . The raid is preceded by Operation Escort , with Shayetet 13 naval commandos sinking a pair of Egyptian torpedo boats that could have threatened the Israeli raiding party . Three commandos are killed when an explosive device detonates prematurely . Israeli troops backed up by aircraft captured Egyptian armor , and destroy 12 Egyptian outposts . The Egyptians suffer 100 – 200 casualties , and a Soviet general serving as a consultant to the Egyptians is also killed , while one Israeli soldier is lightly injured . An Israeli plane is shot down during the raid , and the pilot ' s fate becomes unknown . September 11 , 1969 : Sixteen Egyptian aircraft carry out a strike mission . Eight MiGs are shot down by Israeli Mirages and a further three Su - 7s are lost to Israeli anti - aircraft artillery and HAWK surface - to - air missiles . October 17 , 1969 : The United States and Soviet Union begin diplomatic talks to end the conflict . December 9 , 1969 : Egyptian aircraft , with the assistance of newly delivered P - 15 radar s , defeats the Israelis in an aerial engagement , shooting down two Israeli Mirages . Later in the evening , an Egyptian fighter flown by Lt . Ahmed Atef shot down an Israeli F - 4 Phantom II , making him the first Egyptian pilot to shoot down an F - 4 in combat . The same day , the Rogers Plan is publicized . It calls for Egyptian " commitment to peace " in exchange for the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai . Both parties strongly reject the plan . President Nasser instead opts to plead for more sophisticated weaponry from the Soviet Union to withstand the Israeli bombings . The Soviets initially refuse to deliver the requested weapons . December 26 – 27 , 1969 : Israel launches Operation Rooster 53 , carried out by paratroopers transported by Sikorsky CH - 53E and Super Frelon helicopters . The operation results in the capture of an Egyptian P - 12 radar at Ras Gharib and carrying it to Israel by 2 CH - 53 Sea Stallion Helicopters . The operation enabled Israeli and American learning of the latest Soviet radar technology , and caused a huge morale impact on the Egyptians . 1970 . January 22 , 1970 : President Nasser secretly flies to Moscow to discuss the situation . His request for new SAM batteries ( including the 3M9 Kub and Strela - 2 ) is approved . Their deployment requires qualified personnel along with squadrons of aircraft to protect them . Thus , he needed Red Army personnel in large numbers , something the Kremlin did not want to provide . Nasser then threatens to resign , implying that Egypt might turn to the United States for help in the future . The Soviets had invested heavily in President Nasser ' s regime , and so , the Soviet leader , General - Secretary Leonid Brezhnev , finally obliged . The Soviet presence was to increase from 2 , 500 – 4 , 000 in January to 10 , 600 – 12 , 150 ( plus 100 – 150 Soviet pilots ) by June 30 . January 22 , 1970 : Operation Rhodes . Israeli paratroopers and naval commandos are transported by IAF Super Frelon helicopters to Shadwan Island where they kill 70 Egyptian soldiers and take 62 more prisoner at the loss of 3 dead and 7 wounded . The soldiers dismantle an Egyptian radar and other military equipment for transport back to Israel . IAF aircraft sink two Egyptian P - 183 torpedo boat s during the operation . February , 1970 : An Egyptian commando platoon attempts to set up an ambush in the vicinity of the Mitla Pass but is discovered . The entire unit is either killed or captured . February 5 , 1970 : Israeli auxiliary ships are damaged in the Port of Eilat during a raid by Egyptian frogmen . March 15 , 1970 : The first fully operational Soviet SAM site in Egypt is completed . It is part of three brigades which the Soviet Union sends to Egypt . Israeli F - 4 Phantom II jets repeatedly bomb Egyptian positions in Sinai . On February 9 , an air battle takes place , with each side losing one plane . April 8 , 1970 : Israeli Air Force F4 Phantom II jets kill forty - seven Egyptian schoolchildren at an elementary school in what is known as Bahr el - Baqar incident . The single - floor school was hit by five bombs and two air - to - ground missiles . This incident put a definite end to the campaign , and the Israelis instead then concentrate upon Canal - side installations . The respite gives the Egyptians time to reconstruct its SAM batteries closer to the canal . Soviet flown MiG fighters provide the necessary air cover . Soviet pilots also begin approaching IAF aircraft during April 1970 , but Israeli pilots have orders not to engage these aircraft , and break off whenever Soviet - piloted MiGs appear . May , 1970 : During the final days of the month , the IAF launch major air raids against Port Said , believing a large amphibious force is assembling in the town . On the 16th an Israeli aircraft is shot down in air combat , probably by a MiG - 21 . May 3 , 1970 : Twenty - one Palestinian guerrillas are killed by Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley June 1970 : An Israeli armored raid on Syrian military positions results in " hundreds of Syrian casualties . " June 25 , 1970 : An Israeli A - 4 Skyhawk , in an attack sortie against Egyptian forces on the Canal , is attacked and pursued by a pair of Soviet MiG - 21 s into Sinai . According to the Soviets , the plane was shot down , while the Israelis claim that it was damaged and forced to land at a nearby airbase . June 27 , 1970 : The EAF continued to launch air raids across the canal . On June 27 around eight Egyptian Su - 7 s and MiG - 21s attack Israeli rear areas in Sinai . According to Israel , two Egyptian aircraft were shot down . An Israeli Mirage was shot down , and the pilot was captured . July 18 , 1970 : An Israeli airstrike on Egypt causes casualties among Soviet military personnel . June 30 , 1970 : Soviet air defenses shoot down two Israeli F - 4 Phantoms . Two pilots and a navigator are captured , while a second navigator is rescued by helicopter the following night . July 30 , 1970 : A large - scale dogfight occurs between Israeli and Soviet aircraft , codenamed " Rimon 20 " , involving twelve to twenty - four Soviet MiG - 21s ( besides the initial twelve , other MiGs are " scrambled " , but it is unclear if they reach the battle in time ) , and twelve Israeli Dassault Mirage III s and four F - 4 Phantom II jets . The engagement takes place west of the Suez Canal . Ambushing their opponents , the Israelis shoot down four of the Soviet - piloted MiGs . A fifth is possibly hit and later crashes en route back to base . Four Soviet pilots are killed , while the IAF suffers no losses except a damaged Mirage . Following the Soviets ' direct intervention , known as " Operation Kavkaz " , Washington fears an escalation and redoubles efforts toward a peaceful resolution to the conflict . Early August , 1970 : Despite their losses , the Soviets and Egyptians manage to press the air defenses closer to the canal , shooting down a number of Israeli aircraft . The SAM batteries allow the Egyptians to move in artillery which in turn threatens the Bar Lev Line . August 7 , 1970 : A cease - fire agreement is reached , forbidding either side from changing " the military status quo within zones extending 50 kilometers to the east and west of the cease - fire line . " Minutes after the cease - fire , Egypt begins moving SAM batteries into the zone even though the agreement explicitly forbids new military installations . By October there are approximately one - hundred SAM sites in the zone . September 28 , 1970 : President Nasser dies of a heart attack , and is succeeded by Vice President Anwar Sadat . Casualties . According to the military historian Ze ' ev Schiff , some 721 Israelis , of which 594 were soldiers and the remainder civilians , were killed on all three fronts . Chaim Herzog notes a slightly lower figure of just over 500 killed and some 2000 wounded while Netanel Lorch , states that 1 , 424 soldiers were killed in action between the period of June 15 , 1967 and August 8 , 1970 . Between 14 and 16 Israeli aircraft were shot down . A Soviet estimate notes aircraft losses of 30 . One destroyer , the INS " Eilat " , was sunk . As with the previous Arab - Israeli wars of 1948 , 1956 and 1967 , Arab losses far exceeded those of Israel , but precise figures are difficult to ascertain because official figures were never disclosed . The lowest estimate comes from the former Egyptian Army Chief of Staff , Saad el Shazly , who notes Egyptian casualties of 2 , 882 killed and 6 , 285 wounded . Historian Benny Morris states that a more realistic figure is somewhere on the scale of 10 , 000 soldiers and civilians killed . Ze ' ev Schiff notes that at the height of the war , the Egyptians were losing some 300 soldiers daily and aerial reconnaissance photos revealed at least 1 , 801 freshly dug graves near the Canal zone during this period . Among Egypt ' s war dead was the Egyptian Army Chief of Staff , Abdul Munim Riad . Between 98 and 114 Egyptian aircraft were shot down , though a Soviet estimate notes air losses of 60 . A number of Egyptian naval vessels were sunk . The PLO suffered 1 , 828 killed and 2 , 500 captured . Jordan ’ s intervention on behalf of the PLO during the Battle of Karameh cost it 84 killed and two aircraft lost . An estimated 58 Soviet military personnel were killed and four to five Soviet - piloted MiG - 21 aircraft were shot down in aerial combat . Syrian casualties are unknown but an armored raid by Israeli forces against Syrian positions in June 1970 led to " hundreds of Syrian casualties . " Cuban forces , which were deployed on the Syrian front , were estimated to have lost 180 dead and 250 wounded . See also . Conflicts Politics People