On 6 October 1973, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the Jewish calendar), Egypt and Syria carried out a coordinated surprise military attack against Israel. They were helped militarily and financially by other Arab countries, especially by expeditionary forces from Iraq and Jordan. This 19 day war ended officially when a cease-fire agreement, brokered by the USA and the Soviet Union and proposed by the UN Security Council, entered into force on 24 October 1973.
The Yom Kippur war paved the road to the beginning of the peace process between Israel and Egypt through two interim agreements. These were based on separation of forces, Israeli withdrawal from the Suez Canal which was then opened to shipping, removal of the Egyptian blockade in the Red Sea, and the creation of security zones for Egypt.
A disengagement agreement with Syria was signed in Geneva on 31 May 1974. It included exchange of prisoners of war, limitation on armed forces, Israeli withdrawal from territory that was captured in the 1973 war and from about 60 sq. km. in the Quneitra area captured in the Six Day War.
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© IDF Mapping Unit
This map is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered authoritative.