News stories from Sunday October 7, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Both sides have claimed successes on the second day of the heaviest fighting in the Middle East since 1967. Israeli forces have begun counterattacks against Egyptian positions in the Sinai Peninsula and Syrian positions in the Golan heights. The Israelis are reported to have crippled Syrian air defenses and knocked out nearly all of the Egyptian bridges across the Suez Canal. Egypt and Syria say they have repelled the Israeli counterattacks and have expanded their positions. [New York Times]
- An Israeli military spokesman said that his forces had stopped the advance of Egyptian and Syrian armies, and in doing so, had isolated about 400 Egyptian tanks on the eastern side of the Suez Canal. The heaviest fighting was said to be around the bridgeheads the tanks had established previously, now that Israeli forces had begin their expected counterattack. The Israeli Air Force was also reported to have destroyed much of the Syrian air defense and attacked targets as far west as Cairo.
Egyptian forces continued to reach the eastern bank of the Suez Canal in large numbers, according to the Egyptian command, after an unsuccessful attempt by the Israelis to destroy Arab bridges and other means of crossing the canal. The military announcement was made in answer to earlier Israeli reports that many of the bridges had been destroyed, isolating Egyptian forces from their supply lines. The military command also stated that its forces had downed 57 Israeli planes and knocked out 92 tanks, as well as a large number of armored vehicles.
[New York Times] - In an effort to bring to an end the heavy fighting between Israel, Egypt and Syria and to find a long-term solution to the Mideast crisis, the United States called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. A State Department spokesman said that the United States had not yet worked out a formula for solving the problems in the Mideast, but would approach the meeting with an open mind. [New York Times]
- The United Nations Security Council held consultations in its efforts to frame a call for a cease-fire in the Middle East, but found itself so deeply divided that the effort was abandoned. Most members said they would support a call for a cease-fire but only if the Israelis pulled back to positions that existed before the six-day war in 1967. [New York Times]
- Maurice L. Braverman, the only lawyer imprisoned under the Smith Act for conspiracy during the McCarthy clamor in the 1950's, has gone to the Maryland Court of Appeals in an attempt to be reinstated in the legal profession. The Maryland Bar Association, in a letter sent to the court, contends that Mr. Braverman should be required to show, under oath, "contrition" for his activities. [New York Times]
- The Soviet Union has increased its military expenditures in central Europe by $10 billion in recent years, according to one of Britain's leading authorities on the Soviet military. The buildup comes as nearly six out of 10 Americans, questioned in a Gallup Poll, favored a reduction in the number of American troops in Europe. [New York Times]