After the Six Day War, the Israeli government took steps to protect the conquered lands and, above all, the control gained over the Suez Canal. Therefore, they built a line of fortifications connected by roads that became known as the Bar-Lev Line. On the other hand, the Arab nations defeated in this first conflict still felt disrespected with such a situation and soon organized a response against Israel.
On October 6, 1973, much of the Jewish nation was occupied with preparations for “Yom Kippur”, an important holiday also known as the “day of forgiveness”. Perhaps for irony or strategic reasons, Egypt and Syria launched a heavy military attack by opening fire on Israeli outposts protecting the Suez region. In a matter of minutes, the Israeli armies received a veritable hail of grenades.
Continuing this withering attack, the Arabs used powerful hoses and assault bridges that facilitated the crossing of the Suez waters. In that first moment, the Syrian-Egyptian action yielded good results by allowing the crossing of the channel with a negligible number of casualties among officers. Meanwhile, the Syrians were organizing the other arm of the push into Jewish territory through the Golan Heights.
Israel's reaction was forceful and managed to stifle both sides of the invasion promoted by the Egyptians and Syrians. Despite the defeat, the Arabs took the Yom Kippur war as an important event in which they demonstrated their repudiation of the Jewish presence in the Middle East. The many Israeli soldiers killed and taken by surprise ended up symbolizing the resistance of the Arabs and ignited the various terrorist groups that were organizing at that time.
One of the heaviest consequences of the Yom Kippur War was the outbreak of the Oil Crisis. This crisis set in as soon as the Arab member countries of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) refused to sell oil to countries that supported the Israeli government. In the short term, this economic sanction motivated several nations to discover energy sources that would reduce dependence on petroleum products.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Brazil School Team.
20th century - wars - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/guerra-yom-kippur.htm