Summary
The IDF raid on an Egyptian army camp in the Gaza Strip on 28/2/55, in which 38 Egyptians and 8 Israelis were killed, which Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace — following Wint and Calvocoressi’s Middle East Crisis (1957) — calls one of the most fateful dates in the modern Middle East and the first important link in the chain to “Operation Sinai”; officially announced in 1955 as a patrol’s pursuit of an Egyptian force that had penetrated Israel, it was described in Maariv in 1959 as a planned large-scale reprisal, a contradiction no source denied (Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, PDF p.202-204).
Details
- The official announcement (Davar, 2/3/55) said an IDF unit was attacked near the ceasefire line facing Gaza City, fought on Israeli territory, pursued the expelled Egyptian soldiers across the border, and returned to base (PDF p.202-203).
- The Maariv military correspondent’s detailed 1959 account (2 and 11 October 1959, “a black arrow to the heart of the Gaza Strip”) establishes, in the book’s reading, that no Egyptian penetration took place; before the action the paratroops commander told his men “We are going to attack [!] the Egyptian enemy”, and on their return the Chief of Staff read the Defence Minister’s letter praising “the wonderful skill in combat, planning and execution that were exhibited in this battle” — the authors ask what “planning” means in an unexpected confrontation (PDF p.203-204).
- Even the term “Fedayeen” was then unknown to most Israelis: the first large-scale Fedayeen penetration of Israel came at the end of August 1955, half a year after the raid (PDF p.204).
- Political background as the book traces it: Ben-Gurion returned to the government and the Defence portfolio on 17/2/55; the Baghdad Pact was signed on 24/2/55, Egypt refusing to join; the raid followed on 28/2/55 — “in that sequence can be traced the outline of the policy of “reprisal”” (PDF p.204-205).
- Gamal Abd al-Nasser called the raid “the turning point” that drove Egypt to seek arms, leading to the Czech-Egyptian arms deal; the USA responded on 9/3/55 by halting arms deliveries while offering Egypt free arms if it joined a regional defence pact (PDF p.205, p.208).
Related pages
Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, Gaza, Fedayeen, Baghdad Pact, Czech-Egyptian arms deal, Watchdog state