Six-Day War

==== Syrian front 5–8 June ====
Syria largely stayed out of the conflict for the first four days.<ref name=Shlaim9293>{{harvp|Shlaim|Louis|2012|pp=92–93}}: "Except for some sporadic Syrian shelling of Israeli settlements along the border, Syria stayed pretty much out of the war for the first four days... the Syrians were confused by what they slowly learned was the scale of the destruction on the Egyptian front. They were astounded. They did not understand what was going on, nor did they have the military experience and capability, especially in the officer corps, to react to the new situation. With no air support, how could they move forward against Israel? They reasoned that if they sat tight, they could emerge from this with little damage."</ref><ref>{{harvp|Mutawi|2002|p=182|ps=: "When it came to war, Syria stood aside despite its defence pact with Egypt, while Israel overran Gaza, Sinai and the West Bank. Throughout the critical days between 5 and 8 June 1967, the Egyptian political and military leadership begged Syria to fulfil its commitments and to support Jordan's efforts, but it refused to respond even though Jordan had entered the war in the belief that it would be supported by Syria and Egypt."}}</ref>

False Egyptian reports of a crushing victory against the Israeli army<ref name=npr>{{Cite web |url= https://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history4.html |title= Part 4: The 1967 Six Day War |website= [[NPR]] |access-date= 20 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-date= 11 May 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110511205043/http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history4.html}}</ref> and forecasts that Egyptian forces would soon be attacking [[Tel Aviv]] influenced Syria's decision to enter the war – in a sporadic manner – during this period.<ref name=Shlaim9293/> Syrian artillery began shelling northern Israel, and twelve Syrian jets attacked Israeli settlements in the [[Galilee]]. Israeli fighter jets intercepted the Syrian aircraft, shooting down three and driving off the rest.{{Sfnp|Sachar|1976|p=642}} In addition, two [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] [[Hawker Hunter]] jets, two of the twelve Lebanon had, crossed into Israeli airspace and began strafing Israeli positions in the Galilee. They were intercepted by Israeli fighter jets, and one was shot down.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=237}}

On the evening of 5 June, the Israeli Air Force attacked Syrian airfields. The [[Syrian Air Force]] lost some 32 [[MiG 21]]s, 23 [[MiG-15]] and MiG-17 fighters, and two [[Ilyushin Il-28]] bombers, two-thirds of its fighting strength. The Syrian aircraft that survived the attack retreated to distant bases and played no further role in the war. Following the attack, Syria realised that the news it had received from Egypt of the near-total destruction of the Israeli military could not have been true.{{Sfnp|Sachar|1976|p=642}}

[[File:PikiWiki Israel 7250 Kids in the shelter kibbutz Dan.JPG|thumb|People in a bomb shelter at [[Dan, Israel|Kibbutz Dan]]]]
On 6 June, a minor Syrian force tried to capture the water plants at [[Tel Dan]] (the subject of a fierce escalation two years earlier), [[Dan, Israel|Dan]], and [[She'ar Yashuv]]. These attacks were repulsed with the loss of twenty soldiers and seven tanks. An Israeli officer was also killed. But a broader Syrian offensive quickly failed. Syrian reserve units were broken up by Israeli air attacks, and several tanks were reported to have sunk in the Jordan River.{{Sfnp|Sachar|1976|p=642}}

Other problems included tanks being too wide for bridges, lack of radio communications between tanks and infantry, and units ignoring orders to advance. A post-war Syrian army report concluded:

<blockquote>Our forces did not go on the offensive either because they did not arrive or were not wholly prepared or because they could not find shelter from the enemy's aircraft. The reserves could not withstand the air attacks; they dispersed after their morale plummeted.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002e|loc=Section "Damascus and Jerusalem"}}</blockquote>

The Syrians bombarded Israeli civilian settlements in the [[Galilee Panhandle]] with two battalions of [[130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)|M-46 130mm guns]], four companies of heavy mortars, and dug-in [[Panzer IV]] tanks. The Syrian bombardment killed two civilians and hit 205 houses as well as farming installations. An inaccurate report from a Syrian officer, however, said that as a result of the bombardment that "the enemy appears to have suffered heavy losses and is retreating".{{Sfnp|Dunstan|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8Vy1CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}}