At 7:10 AM on June 5, 1967, a small group of Israeli training planes took off from Hatzor Air Base. These Fouga Magister jets were pretty basic in size and firepower and weren’t really made for combat. But they had an important job—broadcasting signals to pretend they were more advanced fighters, creating a cover of normal patrols.
Just a few minutes after that, the real fighters—Mirage and Mystère jets—entered the air. By 7:30 AM, almost 200 Israeli planes were soaring through the sky, flying super low—only about 15 meters off the ground—to avoid being spotted by Egyptian radar. Operation Focus, a bold surprise attack that would change the Middle East, was officially underway.
Planning the Air Attack
Israeli planes flew west over the Mediterranean and then turned back toward Egypt without making a sound. The pilots used just hand signals—no radio talk at all, not even for emergencies. Colonel Rafi Har-Lev, who was in charge of the Israeli Air Force Operations, made it super clear: if your plane has a problem, just crash it into the sea. Don’t make any contact. This way, there’s no chance of giving away our position to the enemy.
The element of surprise was everything.
Egyptian Military Unpreparedness and Intelligence Failures
Back in Egypt, things had gotten pretty relaxed. Their air force had a lot of planes, but they weren’t really ready for anything serious. Most of the Egyptian fighter jets were just left out in the open, with no protection and at risk of getting damaged. Calls to build some hangars to safeguard them were totally ignored.
What was even worse was that the Egyptian military intelligence didn’t see the attack coming. A bunch of high-ranking Egyptian officers, like Air Marshal Sidqi Mahmoud and Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, were actually in the air on transport planes when the Israeli strikes hit. Other officers were either out of touch, asleep, or just not at their posts.
In Jordan, the Ajloun radar center noticed some strange activity and tried to give Egypt a heads-up, but the warning never made it. Just the day before, Egypt had quietly changed their radio codes and hadn’t told their allies about it.
And here’s the sad twist: when the Israeli fighters launched their attack, most of the Egyptian pilots were just there calmly having their breakfast.
Israel Launches Operation Focus on June 5, 1967
At 7:45 AM, the first bombs hit.
Israel’s Mirage jets swooped down from 9,000 feet, launching their attacks in groups of four. Their main goal was clear: take out runways first, then knock out long-range bombers that might threaten Israeli cities, and lastly, take out any MiG fighters before they could even get off the ground.
In just minutes, major Egyptian airfields like Fayed, Kibrit, and Abu Suweir were on fire. Israeli Captain Ovadia Ben-Nun, who led the strike on Fayed, remembered seeing four MiGs all lined up ready for takeoff. He dropped his bombs right on them. Two of them blew up instantly.
The Israelis used French-made Durandal bombs, which were designed to wreck runways. One hit left huge craters nearly six feet wide—pretty much impossible to fix quickly.
By 8:00 AM, four Egyptian air bases in Sinai were completely taken out. The lines of communication between front-line troops and Cairo’s Supreme Command were cut off. In just half an hour, 204 Egyptian planes were destroyed—most of them never even got off the ground.
Destruction of the Egyptian Air Force Within Minutes
What’s even more surprising? There was no air resistance at all. The Israelis were ready for dogfights and each pilot made sure to keep some fuel and ammunition left just in case, but none happened.
Egypt’s top commander was so worried about friendly fire that he told all 100 anti-aircraft batteries to hold off on firing instead of risking shooting down their own planes. Only in Cairo did a few gunners take the chance to shoot back, but it didn’t make any difference.
One Egyptian officer, Major Sayed Ahmed Rabie, later said he went against orders and fired without permission. He was worried about facing a court-martial, but instead, he got a bravery award. Meanwhile, Israel still says it only lost one plane and that one was accidentally hit by its own missile.
Israel’s Secrecy and Surprise Strategy
Israel kept quiet about how well things were going for hours. This silence held off calls from the world for a ceasefire, allowing Israeli ground troops—who got the go-ahead from Defense Minister Moshe Dayan at 8:15 AM—to charge into the Sinai.
Not long after, there was another wave of airstrikes aimed at Egypt’s last 14 air bases and radar spots. Essentially, the Egyptian Air Force was taken out completely.
A Devastating Miscalculation
Why did Egypt fall so quickly? Multiple reasons.
- Underestimated enemy capability: Egyptian intelligence believed bases like Fayed and Kibrit were beyond Israel’s reach.
- Lack of preparation: Planes parked in the open, no protective barriers, no hangars.
- Command failure: Key leadership absent or unreachable at the moment of crisis.
- Arrogance: A belief that Israel would never dare such an attack—or if it did, it wouldn’t succeed.
But Israel dared. And in the space of a single morning, it achieved total air dominance.
Impact on Regional Power Dynamics
Once everything calmed down, one of the biggest air forces in the world was taken out in less than four hours. This wasn’t because they had more planes, but thanks to smart planning, keeping things under wraps, and some serious guts.
Years later, former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin confessed that success hadn’t been certain. “We had a backup plan in case of failure,” he said. “The first 45 minutes felt like an entire day.”
It turned out, they didn’t need a backup. The morning sky had fallen silent—on Israel’s terms.
