ISRAEL last night claimed to have isolated the Egyptian forces fighting in the Sinai Peninsula by destroying almost all the bridges the Arabs had established across the Suez Canal. At the same time the Arab military spokesman claimed that the Egyptian and Syrian air forces had destroyed nearly a fifth of Israel╒s combat aircraft.
As full-scale fighting continued throughout the day, both in Sinai and in the Golan Heights on Israel╒s border with Syria, ships of the US Sixth Fleet put to sea in the Eastern Mediterranean. The claim that Egyptian ground forces had been cut off from their supply route was made by Major General Haim Herzog, acting as spokesman for the Israeli general staff.
He said that some 10 bridges had been destroyed from the air, leaving 400 Egyptian tanks isolated in Sinai. Israeli forces were nearing the battle areas and would move against them when ordered. ╥Building up forces takes time,╙ he said. Later Egypt totally rebutted these claims ╤ Israel╒s jets had been foiled, a military spokesman said. ╥We are still pouring across in large numbers.╙ On the northern front the Israelis said they had destroyed more than 100 of the 800 to 1,000 Syrian tanks which had moved against the occupied Golan Heights. They also claimed to have wiped out a large part of the Syrian air defence missile system.
Early today, while admitting ╥not insubstantial╙ losses, a military spokesman told stories of ╥extreme heroism╙ ╤ like one tank knocking out 17 Syrian tanks ╤ and prophesied: ╥Total routing is believed to be only a matter of time.╙
Aerial battle
The Syrian military spokesman said that 43 Israeli aircraft had been brought down in a day of continuous aerial battle and that nine pilots had been captured. In Cairo the Egyptians said that they had accounted for 57 aircraft, 92 tanks, 5 naval units, and 15
fortified positions on the Israeli side of the canal. Egypt admits losing 21 aircraft in the two days of fighting ╤ but only six yesterday.
One point that emerged during the day was that the attacks had taken the Israelis by surprise. In spite of the repeated threats, both from President Sadat and the Syrian regime, the fact that the Arab forces had actually done what they said they were going to do introduced a new element into the old stalemate.
But the atmosphere in the various capitals remained calm and produced none of the hysteria that earlier conflicts had generated. In Egypt a certain amount of rationing was announced and night clubs were ordered to close. In Tel-Aviv and other Israeli cities a total blackout was ordered and civil defence workers were mobilised. Schools remained closed and bus services were curtailed because of the number of vehicles being used to carry newly mobilised troops.
A number of Arab countries issued statements of varying fervour in support of Egypt and Syria but there was little evidence of any direct moves to join in the battle. In Jordan, King Hussein visited army units along the Jordan Valley but remained notably silent otherwise.
