Israel won the Six-Day War through a sequence of air and ground campaigns against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. On June 5, the Israel Air Force struck Egyptian airfields in Operation Focus (Moked), then attacked additional Arab air forces as the fighting widened. Ground forces advanced through Sinai, fought Jordanian forces in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, and captured the Golan Heights after the northern campaign began on June 9.
Operation Focus opened the Egyptian front
The air operation had been planned years earlier as a 24-hour mission. On June 5 Israeli aircraft attacked Egyptian airfields; after the first wave, the IDF ordered ground forces into Sinai. A second air attack followed to strike remaining targets and radar and communications infrastructure. These strikes sharply reduced Egypt’s ability to use its air force during the campaign, giving Israeli ground units room to advance. Exact aircraft totals vary by whether accounts count destroyed, damaged, or captured planes, so the operational sequence is clearer than a single headline number. The IDF account of Operation Moked describes its planning and waves; the IDF day-by-day timeline records the start of later attacks and ground advances.
Three fronts, one changing sequence
Egypt was the first front. Israeli forces advanced across Sinai, taking key positions including Abu Agheila, a fortified junction on the routes toward the Suez Canal. The battle combined armor, infantry, artillery, and night movement; claims about helicopters or night-vision equipment are unnecessary to explain the result. Israeli forces reached the canal by June 8.
Jordan entered the fighting on June 5 after Israel sent a message urging King Hussein to stay out of the conflict. Jordanian artillery fired on Jerusalem and other Israeli positions. Israeli forces fought to control the city and drove Jordanian forces from Judea and Samaria. The IDF timeline places the fighting at Ammunition Hill and Government House within that sequence. The sequence matters: the Jerusalem battle formed one part of a war already underway on the Egyptian front, and it continued after Jordan joined.
On June 9, after days of fighting on the other fronts, Israel began its assault on Syrian positions in the Golan Heights. The steep terrain and fortified positions made the advance difficult; Israeli forces took the plateau by June 10, when the ceasefire took effect. The capture ended artillery fire from Syrian positions overlooking Israeli communities below. See the Jerusalem battle and its aftermath and the postwar map.