On October 12, 1973, Israeli military leaders gathered to discuss a series of counterattacks after being taken by surprise by a fierce Syrian and Egyptian multi-front onslaught six days earlier.
One of the hundreds of documents currently accessible on a new, Hebrew-language website released on Sunday by the Israeli Defense Ministry and Israel Defense Forces archives to honor 50 years since the war tells the epic tale of the Yom Kippur War.
The new site, which also includes photographs, films, audio recordings, and testimony, is the largest to date focusing on the Yom Kippur War in terms of the number of official documents available.
Protocols from a crucial discussion between IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. David (Dado) Elazar, Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Benny Peled, Military Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Eli Zeira, and other high military officials are contained in a document stamped “top secret” and dated October 12, 1973.
They talked about the necessity to start attacking further within Egypt, outside the Sinai battle zone, and the forward positioning of IAF aircraft to allow them to assault Egyptian forces.
According to Peled, “This is a coordinated operation to infiltrate Egypt, with all of the SA-2 [a reference to Egyptian surface-to-air missiles that threatened Israeli aircraft], with all of the [Egyptian] patrols, almost attacking [Egyptian air] fields.
Elazar, the chief of staff, welcomed the idea and said, “Let’s discuss this among us.” Later, he said that while it would be a risky operation, the fact that strikes would take place close to Cairo may have a huge impact on Egypt.
Peled says, “I wanted to advise that you start working in Egypt. Elazar replies, “We’ll start working inside Egypt.”
What’s here? Zeira questions the other policemen. Peled said, pointing to a spot on the map, “24 helicopters and 15 transport aircraft.
This is their primary landing and parachute force.
The majority of the intelligence data that was collected prior to the conflict and sent by Zeira to the official Agranat Commission, which was set up by the Israeli government to look into the conflict and the mistakes that were made in its preparation, is being made public for the first time on the new Defense Ministry website.
Additionally, it contains details about how Syrian forces managed to capture the Israeli outpost on Hermon.
The website includes 15,301 images, 6,085 papers, 215 films, 40 audio recordings, 169 maps, and other visual representations of the battlefield, tactical and strategic considerations of the decision-makers, and spectacular battle scenes.
The website “was created to share the history of the war’s generation, to honor the soldiers’ bravery, and to create an official state platform.”
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