Operation Dawn (1967)
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Operation Dawn, code-name Fajr (الفجر) in Arabic,[1] was a rejected Egyptian military proposal planned by General Abdel Hakim Amer, as tension built between Israel and Egypt ahead of what was to become the Six Day War. It was not approved by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was committed to not attacking Israel, unless Israel attacked first. Amer’s proposal was to strike the Israeli Air Force, in the prelude to what would become the Six-Day War. The Egyptian attack plan was to also involve strategic bombing of major ports, the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona, airfields and cities. Arab armies would then attack, effectively cutting Israel in half with an armoured thrust from northern Sinai via the Negev desert.[2]
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had provoked Israel when he closed the Straits of Tiran on May 22, 1967.
Abdel Hakim Amer, an Egyptian general, planned the operation,[2] which were it to have been approved would have taken place on May 27, 1967.[1]
According to the Israeli diplomat Michael Oren, Operation Dawn was called off after Nasser was informed by the Soviet Union that the United States was aware of the plan.[3] Israel sent urgent messages to the United States on May 25, 1967, saying an attack from Egypt was imminent.