#6Oct73 : The battle and siege of Suez

Today is the National Day of Suez Governorate, commemorating the Suez city’s heroic resistance during the October War of 1973.

Colored by Google Gemini
An Egyptian resistance fighter from Suez 

The siege of Suez lasted about 101 days — from October 24, 1973, to January 28, 1974 — marking the final phase of the war.

On October 23, Israeli forces under Ariel Sharon attempted to storm the city despite the Israeli commanders’ concerns, expecting minimal resistance due to a fatal strategic error by President Anwar Sadat.

Acting on a request from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to ease pressure on the northern front, Sadat ordered further offensives eastward on October 14, despite Egypt’s initial success crossing the Suez Canal.

This move went against the advice of senior commanders, including Chief of Staff Saad El-Din El-Shazly, who warned that pushing beyond the SAM (surface-to-air missile) umbrella would overextend Egypt’s forces.

The resulting withdrawal of units from the western bank weakened the sector near Deversoir (between the Egyptian Second and Third Armies) , leaving it thinly defended — a gap that Ariel Sharon’s division exploited on October 23 to cross into the west bank.

Once across, Sharon’s forces deployed an armored brigade and a paratrooper battalion to cut off supplies to Egypt’s Third Army.

What followed was an epic defense on October 24.

As two Israeli brigades and a paratrooper unit approached the city’s outskirts, they walked into a deadly ambush.

Despite being armed only with light weapons and assault rifles, Suez’s defenders unleashed heavy fire, trapping the paratroopers inside local buildings.

On October 25, the Israelis renewed their attempt to seize the city and block its access routes. Fierce fighting erupted on the outskirts, and the assault ultimately failed, leaving behind heavy losses — including 13 tanks and 8 Mirage aircraft.

Brigadier General Youssef Afifi, commander of the 19th Infantry Division east of the canal, ordered anti-tank teams and hunters to reinforce the city.

As Israeli units advanced into the Al-Arbaeen district, they were met by anti-tank groups and local resistance fighters who destroyed more than nine tanks.

Among the heroes of the popular resistance was Mahmoud Awad, who, alongside his comrades Ibrahim Suleiman and Mohamed Sarhan, fired RPG rounds at advancing tanks.

In a close-range ambush near the Royal and Misr cinemas, they destroyed the lead tank and set an armored personnel carrier ablaze, killing most of its crew.

Within minutes, twenty of twenty-four Israeli tank officers were dead.

Those who tried to flee or take shelter were ambushed by resistance fighters and Third Army soldiers, forcing the paratroopers to retreat. Some sought refuge inside the Al-Arbaeen police station, where they were besieged, sparking further clashes.

Four tanks attempting to escape from behind the Sidi Al-Arbaeen Mosque were intercepted by soldiers of the 19th Infantry Division and forced to withdraw.

By dawn on October 25, the Israelis had retreated after suffering an estimated 80 dead and 120 wounded.

A second and third assault later that day also failed, with the defenders destroying another 19 tanks in total.

From October 25 to 28, 1973, the city remained encircled by Israeli forces, which bombarded it and cut supply lines in an effort to force its surrender.

Inside Suez, residents and remaining troops organized a remarkable defense, relying on local knowledge and guerrilla tactics.

On October 28, a U.N.-brokered ceasefire took effect — but it did not end the siege.

Since October 23, Israeli forces had maintained a siege of Suez for more than 100 days, sealing off all roads leading to the city.

They also attempted to impose a naval blockade by cutting the waterway connecting it to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea, while severing electricity and water supplies in an effort to pressure residents into surrender.

The most difficult phase of the siege lasted from October 23 to November 14, 1973, when residents relied on their meager local resources while enduring intense Israeli bombardments and air raids on residential areas.

Members of the local Suez resistance 

After November 14, the situation began to ease as supplies started arriving from Cairo, following the signing of the Six-Point Agreement on November 11, 1973, between Egypt and Israel during the ceasefire talks at Kilometer 101.

The agreement stipulated that the city of Suez should receive daily supplies of food, water, and medicine, and that the wounded be evacuated. It also required that no obstacles be placed on the delivery of non-military supplies to the eastern bank of the Canal.

Following this, the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers began.

On January 28, 1974, the siege of Suez effectively came to an end.

Israeli forces withdrew from all their positions, and all roads connecting Suez to the outside world were reopened.

Communications were restored after the signing of the First Disengagement Agreement between Egypt and Israel on January 18, 1974.

The next day, the people of Suez poured into the streets to welcome those returning from Cairo, joining in celebration with the steadfast heroes who had endured the siege inside the city.

Despite being surrounded for 100 days, the city never fell — it became a lasting symbol of Egyptian resilience and defiance.

The City of Suez — The Resistance of Suez

Before the 1967 Six-Day War, Suez had a population of around 260,000. But most residents fled the city following the Israeli air raids of June 5, 1967.

It’s rarely mentioned, but Israel committed a series of war crimes against the population of Suez when its air force bombed the city that day with napalm and other banned munitions.

My mother’s uncle lived in Suez, and her late cousin — until the day she died — vividly remembered seeing the dead bodies of neighbors in her street, including one woman she had known whose head was blown off.

That memory haunted her for life. Then came the displacement.

For the people of Suez, whose livelihoods depended on the sea, oil refineries, the Suez Canal, and its port, leaving their homes for Cairo and other governorates during wartime was yet another ordeal.

It was the second-largest internal displacement Egypt witnessed in the 20th century, after the resettlement of Nubian Egyptians during the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

Yet despite the mass exodus, enough men remained in Suez to form a resistance group under the umbrella of the Sinai Arab Organization, which became part of the city’s defense force.

This wasn’t something new or alien to the people of Suez — the city already had veterans of secret resistance groups, led by the godfather of Suez’s resistance since the 1940s, Sheikh Hafiz Salama.

Suez became a legend — a true legend.

Salama had formed the first underground militant resistance group against the British occupation in 1948, in direct response to the Palestine War.

He would later stand among the men who led Suez’s defense in October 1973.

By then, Suez was largely a ghost city, housing several units of the Third Army, which had been engaged with Israeli forces since October 16. 

Local Suez residents and Egyptian soliders in Suez at one of the houses 
October 31,1973 "Source : @MEI1122011 on Twitter"

The Egyptian troops inside the city numbered around 5,000 men.

The Israelis, despite being fully armed and supported by the United States, suffered heavy losses and failed to capture the city.

Suez buildings in January 1974 by AP

Although 90% of Suez was rebuilt after the war, about 10% of its original buildings — mostly residential homes — still bear the marks of battle to this day, like medals of honor.

The houses of Suez still display the bullet holes and shrapnel scars from the War of Attrition, even before 1973. Those homes were immortalized in songs and literature, forever symbols of endurance.

That legend of Suez as a city of resistance was revived in January 2011, when it became the cradle of the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

According to local legend, an American fortune-teller once told Mubarak that his downfall would come in Suez — which, residents believe, explains his avoidance and neglect of the city throughout his rule.

Ironically, that neglect led to deep economic hardship in the city that bears the name of Egypt’s greatest source of income — the Suez Canal — pushing its people to protest on that cold night in January 2011. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Shelters are for women, and resistance is for men. Defending the homeland is sacred" 
On the right a phrase its half read "Reclaiming Palestine" The Graffiti in Suez read in 1973

I think after reading this post, you may understand why what’s happening in Gaza resonates so deeply with many Egyptians.

Gaza is like a bigger Suez — enduring a longer, far harsher siege that has lasted nearly two decades. The siege of Gaza did not begin on October 8, 2023.

Gaza is like a bigger Suez — but smaller than New Cairo.

All I pray for now is that Gaza stands firm against all conspiracies and plots, just as Suez once did — though I am fully aware of the vast difference.

We’re speaking of an entire city of 2.5 million people, suffering genocide and famine under an ongoing siege.