Operation Focus

Operation Focus
Part of the Six-Day War
Israeli Air Force officers next to a destroyed Egyptian MiG-21 at Bir Gifgafa.
Operational scope	Air strike
Planned by	IDF
Objective	Destroy Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian aircraft
Date	5 June 1967
Executed by	Israeli Air Force
Outcome	Israeli victory Israeli air supremacy over Egypt, Syria and Jordan

Operation Focus (Hebrew: מבצע מוקד, Mivtza Moked) was the opening airstrike by Israel at the start of the Six-Day War in 1967. It is sometimes referred to as the "Sinai Air Strike". At 07:45 on 5 June 1967, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) under Maj. Gen. Mordechai Hod launched a massive airstrike that destroyed the majority of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground. Following Syrian and Jordanian attacks in retaliation, the Israeli Air Force proceeded to bomb air bases in those countries. By noon, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian Air Forces, totaling about 450 aircraft, were destroyed. It was also very successful in disabling 18 airfields in Egypt, hindering Egyptian air operations for the duration of the war, and remains one of the most successful air attack campaigns in military history.