On the night of 11–12 December 1955 the operation began.
Following artillery and mortar barrages against Syrian positions, elements of the 890th Paratroop Battalion, augmented by units of Aharon Davidi's 771 Reserve Paratroop Battalion as well as units from the Nahal and Givati Brigades commenced their attack.
The complex operation involved a two-column attack from the north and south, which included both infantry and armored vehicles, as well as an amphibious assault conducted by troops who crossed the sea by boat.
Sharon directed the operation from a small plane circling the battle area.
The combined force raided Syrian emplacements along the Kinneret's northeastern shoreline north of Kibbutz Ein Gev until the Jordan River estuary, and destroyed all the gun emplacements they attacked.
The Syrians suffered fifty-four killed in action and another thirty Syrian soldiers were taken prisoner.
The Israelis lost six soldiers, with another ten wounded.
Among these was Company Commander Yitzchak Ben Menachem, a highly regarded soldier and Israeli hero of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War who was killed by a Syrian hand grenade while attacking Syrian positions near Akib.
His death notwithstanding, the mission was regarded as an unmitigated success.
Political fallout generated by the operation would later prompt Ben-Gurion to comment, somewhat sarcastically, that it may have been "too successful".
On the night of 11–12 December 1955 the operation began. Following artillery and mortar barrages against Syrian positions, elements of the 890th Paratroop Battalion, augmented by units of Aharon Davidi's 771 Reserve Paratroop Battalion as well as units from the Nahal and Givati Brigades commenced their attack. The complex operation involved a two-column attack from the north and south, which included both infantry and armored vehicles, as well as an amphibious assault conducted by troops who crossed the sea by boat. Sharon directed the operation from a small plane circling the battle area. The combined force raided Syrian emplacements along the Kinneret's northeastern shoreline north of Kibbutz Ein Gev until the Jordan River estuary, and destroyed all the gun emplacements they attacked. The Syrians suffered fifty-four killed in action and another thirty Syrian soldiers were taken prisoner. The Israelis lost six soldiers, with another ten wounded. Among these was Company Commander Yitzchak Ben Menachem, a highly regarded soldier and Israeli hero of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War who was killed by a Syrian hand grenade while attacking Syrian positions near Akib. His death notwithstanding, the mission was regarded as an unmitigated success. Political fallout generated by the operation would later prompt Ben-Gurion to comment, somewhat sarcastically, that it may have been "too successful".
Operation Olive Leaves