<Li> Scud missile attack </Li> <Ul> <Li> Nickel Grass </Li> </Ul> <P> The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War, or October War (Hebrew: מלחמת יום הכיפורים ‎ ‎, Milẖemet Yom HaKipurim, or מלחמת יום כיפור, Milẖemet Yom Kipur; Arabic: حرب أكتوبر ‎ ‎, Ḥarb ʾUktōbar, or حرب تشرين, Ḥarb Tišrīn), also known as the 1973 Arab--Israeli War, was a war fought by a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel from October 6 to 25, 1973 . The fighting mostly took place in the Sinai and the Golan Heights, territories that had been occupied by Israel since the Six - Day War of 1967 . Egyptian President Anwar Sadat wanted also to reopen the Suez Canal . Neither specifically planned to destroy Israel, although the Israeli leaders could not be sure of that . </P> <P> The war began when the Arab coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israeli positions in the Israeli - occupied territories on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, which also occurred that year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan . Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed ceasefire lines to enter the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights respectively . Both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the war, and this led to a near - confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers . </P>

Who was involved in the yom kippur war