Major generals Moetaz Al-Sharkawi and Magdi Shehata, both 73, were invited this week to relate their stories on how they wore down Israeli forces between 1967 and 1970. Al-Sharkawi and Shehata, who now oversee the establishment of the New Administrative Capital in New Cairo, were also known as the Eagles of the Commandos.

The generals were recounting the War of Attrition which involved artillery duels and small-scale incursions between Egypt and Israel from 1967 to 1970. The War of Attrition followed the 1967 War between the two countries, after which no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve the issues at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The event, organised by the Al-Safwa Cultural Forum of Alexandria, was originally scheduled to be held in April to mark the liberation of Sinai, but was postponed because of Covid-19, said businessman Abdel-Fattah Ragab, the event’s host. “Now, with life gradually getting back to normalcy, we decided to hold the event, to listen to their amazing war stories and have the opportunity to honour them for their contribution in defending Egyptian land,” Ragab said.

Major General Shehata spoke about the deadly battles he fought with his soldiers in Sinai where they were in very close proximity to the Israelis and how they often times faced death in the rugged terrain. He presented to the audience, on screen, the situation and the plan and how they managed to extricate themselves from dangerous positions.

Al-Sharkawi was dubbed The Ghost by the Israelis during the War of Attrition because he was almost invisible. They knew of his existence only when he left his trademark signature in their camps: they would often find dead bodies of their soldiers, their left ears cut off.

Al-Sharkawi

“I was very young then, in my early 20s. During the war, our commanders would ask us to prove we killed Israelis. Since we couldn’t carry dead bodies, we had to bring other kinds of evidence. I cut off their left ears as proof. I collected 56 ears and delivered them to my commander. He was stunned, but it was proof,” Al-Sharkawi told symposium participants.

In another instance he collected the identity chains and bracelets of Israeli soldiers because he knew that if their families didn’t receive their bodies, they would remain in grief and mourn forever.

Al-Sharkawi recalled his military journey and his three meetings with the late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser. “The first was a surprise visit to our home in Port Said, where my father was the governor and also president Nasser’s colleague and friend,” he said, adding that at the time, he was still a student in the Military Academy.

The other two meetings were official, in Nasser’s office, he said, explaining that he was summoned by Nasser who wanted to hear the story of how he [Al-Sharkawi] killed General Yeshayahu Gavish who was leader of the Israeli Southern Military Zone.

“He then asked me to ask for anything I wanted. I told him that I wanted to take a photo with him to show it to my children and grandchildren in the future. We took the photo but he felt it wasn’t enough so he asked me again to seriously name something I wanted. So I asked him for a letter of appreciation in his handwriting to show to my family. He wrote it and stamped it. Then I saw tears in his eyes because he believed that what I asked for in return for my services and what he called ‘heroic battles’ was too little for the effort done.”

Al-Sharkawi said his participation in the War of Attrition and the 1973 October War against Israel would remain the most cherished and most noble days of his life. “The connection and responsibility that emerged and grew between the Egyptians and their army was the main reason for the victory, especially since almost every home in Egypt had someone in the war.”

Al-Sharkawi also spoke about the role of Egypt’s soldiers in the clashes from 1967 to 1973. He recalled how they used the names of their wives, sisters or mothers as code names instead of the names of cities or checkpoints, so that if someone had been listening in by radio he would not know which direction the battalion was coming from or going to.

He noted that war correspondents were not allowed to join any battalions on their missions which were conducted in complete secrecy. No one was allowed in, he explained.

However, Al-Sharkawi showed the audience pictures of himself with two famed war correspondents: Gamal Al-Ghitani of Al-Akhbar newspaper and Gamal Al-Konaissi, who later became head of Egyptian Radio. “They joined us in the camps but not on the missions. They were very knowledgeable, knew their limits and understood how things worked and what and how to report.”

Al-Sharkawi believes that the younger generation faces a tougher enemy than in the old days. “We, the older generation, fought an enemy we could see and fight against with guns and machines. But now you [youth] face tougher challenges as this generation fights unknown or invisible enemies that have emerged through technology,” he said, adding that “today’s enemies spread their venom causing depression and frustration among the younger generation” who, he added, represent around 60 per cent of the population.

Besides Al-Sharkawi and Shehata, Major generals Gamal Rostom and Mahmoud Kabil were honoured. Kabil is also known for his extensive acting roles on screen.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 20 August, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly