<Li> 1,000 civilians killed </Li> <Li> 5,000--30,000 + captured </Li> <P> The Suez Crisis or the Second Arab--Israeli War also named the Tripartite Aggression (in the Arab world) and Operation Kadesh or Sinai War (in Israel), was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France . The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just nationalized the canal . After the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders . The episode humiliated Great Britain and France and strengthened Nasser . </P> <P> On 29 October, Israel invaded the Egyptian Sinai . Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to cease fire, which was ignored . On 5 November, Britain and France landed paratroopers along the Suez Canal . The Egyptian forces were defeated, but they did block the canal to all shipping . It later became clear that the Israeli invasion and the subsequent Anglo - French attack had been planned beforehand by the three countries . </P>

When did britain go to war with egypt