Editing Six-Day War (section)

==== Next fighting days ====
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2017}}
[[File:1967 Six Day War - conquest of Sinai 7-8 June.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The capture of Sinai. 7–8 June 1967]]
[[File:1967-06-06 Mid-East.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=0:56|A newsreel from 6 June about the first Israeli-Egyptian fighting.]]
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Israeli Gun Boat.jpg|thumb|An Israeli gunboat passes through the Straits of Tiran near Sharm El Sheikh.]]

As Egyptian columns retreated, Israeli aircraft and artillery attacked them. Israeli jets used [[napalm]] bombs during their sorties. The attacks destroyed hundreds of vehicles and caused heavy casualties. At Jabal Libni, retreating Egyptian soldiers were fired upon by their own artillery. At Bir Gafgafa, the Egyptians fiercely resisted advancing Israeli forces, knocking out three tanks and eight half-tracks, and killing 20 soldiers. Due to the Egyptians' retreat, the Israeli High Command decided not to pursue the Egyptian units but rather to bypass and destroy them in the mountainous passes of West Sinai.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Therefore, in the following two days (6 and 7 June), all three Israeli divisions (Sharon and Tal were reinforced by an armored brigade each) rushed westwards and reached the passes. Sharon's division first went southward then westward, via [[An-Nakhl Fortress|An-Nakhl]], to [[Mitla Pass]] with air support. It was joined there by parts of Yoffe's division, while its other units blocked the [[Gidi Pass]]. These passes became killing grounds for the Egyptians, who ran right into waiting Israeli positions and suffered heavy losses in both soldiers and vehicles. According to Egyptian diplomat [[Mahmoud Riad]], 10,000 men were killed in one day alone, and many others died from thirst. Tal's units stopped at various points to the length of the Suez Canal.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Israel's blocking action was partially successful. Only the Gidi pass was captured before the Egyptians approached it, but at other places, Egyptian units managed to pass through and cross the canal to safety. Due to the haste of the Egyptian retreat, soldiers often abandoned weapons, military equipment, and hundreds of vehicles. Many Egyptian soldiers were cut off from their units had to walk about {{convert|200|km}} on foot before reaching the Suez Canal with limited supplies of food and water and were exposed to intense heat. Thousands died as a result. Many Egyptian soldiers chose instead to surrender to the Israelis, who eventually exceeded their capabilities to provide for prisoners. As a result, they began directing soldiers towards the Suez Canal and only imprisoned high-ranking officers, who were expected to be exchanged for captured Israeli pilots.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

According to some accounts, during the Egyptian retreat from the Sinai, a unit of [[Russian Naval Infantry|Soviet Marines]] based on a Soviet warship in [[Port Said]] at the time came ashore and attempted to cross the Suez Canal eastward. The Soviet force was reportedly decimated by an Israeli air attack and lost 17 dead and 34 wounded. Among the wounded was the commander, Lt. Col. Victor Shevchenko.<ref name=ginor>Ginor, Isabella and Remez, Gideon: ''The Soviet-Israeli War, 1967–1973: The USSR's Military Intervention in the Egyptian-Israeli Conflict'', p.&nbsp;23</ref>

During the offensive, the [[Israeli Navy]] landed six [[frogman|combat divers]] from the [[Shayetet 13]] naval commando unit to infiltrate [[Alexandria]] harbor. The divers sank an Egyptian [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] before being taken prisoner. Shayetet 13 commandos also infiltrated [[Port Said]] harbor, but found no ships there. A planned commando raid against the [[Syrian Navy]] never materialized. Both Egyptian and Israeli warships made movements at sea to intimidate the other side throughout the war but did not engage each other. Israeli warships and aircraft hunted for Egyptian submarines throughout the war.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

On 7 June, Israel began its attack on [[Sharm el-Sheikh]]. The [[Israeli Navy]] started the operation with a probe of Egyptian naval defenses. An aerial reconnaissance flight found that the area was less defended than originally thought. At about 4:30&nbsp;am, three Israeli [[missile boat]]s opened fire on Egyptian shore batteries, while paratroopers and commandos boarded helicopters and [[Nord Noratlas]] transport planes for an assault on Al-Tur, as Chief of Staff Rabin was convinced it was too risky to land them directly in Sharm el-Sheikh.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=248}} The city had been largely abandoned the day before, and reports from air and naval forces finally convinced Rabin to divert the aircraft to Sharm el-Sheikh. There, the Israelis engaged in a pitched battle with the Egyptians and took the city, killing 20 Egyptian soldiers and taking eight more prisoners. At 12:15&nbsp;pm, Defense Minister Dayan announced that the Straits of Tiran constituted an international waterway open to all ships without restriction.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=248}}

On 8 June, Israel completed the capture of the Sinai by sending infantry units to [[Ras Sudar]] on the western coast of the peninsula.

Several tactical elements made the swift Israeli advance possible:

# The surprise attack that quickly gave the [[Israeli Air Force]] complete air superiority over the [[Egyptian Air Force]].
# The determined implementation of an innovative battle plan.
# The lack of coordination among Egyptian troops.

These factors would prove to be decisive elements on Israel's other fronts as well.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}