Operation Abirey-Halev
Israeli military operation against Egypt in October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
Operation Abirey-Halev or Operation Abirey-Lev (lit. Knights of the Heart) also known as Operation Stouthearted Men and Operation Valiant, code-named Operation Gazelle (Hebrew: מבצע אבירי לב, Arabic: ثغرة الدفرسوار), was an Israeli operation that took place in the center of the Suez Canal on 15–23 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.
Israeli breakthrough – Crossing the canal
After the Egyptian failed attack of October 14, the Israelis immediately followed with a multidivisional counterattack through the gap between the Egyptian 2nd and 3rd Armies. Ariel Sharon's 143rd Division, now reinforced with the 247th paratroopers reserve Brigade commanded by Colonel Danny Matt, was tasked with establishing bridgeheads on the east and west banks of the canal. The 162nd and 252nd Armored Divisions, commanded by Generals Avraham Adan and Kalman Magen respectively, would then cross through the breach to the west bank of the canal and swing southward, encircling the 3rd Army. The offensive was code-named Operation Stouthearted Men or alternatively, Operation Valiant.
On the night of October 15, 750 of Colonel Matt's paratroopers crossed the canal in rubber dinghies. They were soon joined by tanks ferried on motorized rafts and additional infantry. The force encountered no resistance initially and fanned out in raiding parties, attacking supply convoys, SAM sites, logistic centers and anything of military value, with priority given to the SAMs. Attacks on SAM sites punched a hole in the Egyptian anti-aircraft screen and enabled the Israeli Air Force to strike Egyptian ground targets more aggressively.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Operation Abirey-Halev” is israeli military operation against Egypt in October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Operation, Abirey-Halev and Israeli, not as a finished interpretation.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6755284. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1973.
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This entry incorporates text from “Operation Abirey-Halev” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.