Israel Strikes First: Six-Day War Begins
Israel launched a preemptive air strike against Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian air forces on June 5, 1967, destroying 452 aircraft, mostly on the ground, within the first three hours. The Six-Day War ended on June 10 with Israel in control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, tripling its territory. The war killed approximately 20,000 Arab soldiers and 800 Israeli soldiers. Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza created a situation where millions of Palestinians lived under military control without citizenship rights, a condition that persists in the West Bank today. UN Security Council Resolution 242, calling for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the conflict, remains the framework for peace negotiations over half a century later.
June 5, 1967
59 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on June 5
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