Bab el-Mandeb Closure Was a Winning Card in October War, Former Naval Academy Chief Says

Major General Ahmed al-Sadeq, former director of Egypt’s Naval Academy, described the closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as a winning card during the October 1973 war.

Al-Sadeq said the conflict was a war to restore Egyptian dignity, with the armed forces overcoming the bitterness of the 1967 defeat.

He described the outcome as a victory that renewed Egyptians’ confidence, linking the military achievement to its impact on national morale.

His assessment placed the closure of Bab el-Mandeb among the strengths of Egypt’s wartime strategy, alongside the broader significance of October 1973 as a moment of restored confidence.