Suez Crisis

Historical eventNovember 31956

Suez Crisis

Suez Crisis: During an invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers shot and killed hundreds of Palestinian refugees and local inhabitants in Khan Yunis.

70th anniversary in 2026

Everything on November 3Original source

In context

When
Saturday, November 3 195670 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1950s
Anniversary
70th in 2026
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1956.

What happened

The Suez Crisis, also known as the second Arab–Israeli war, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, with the primary objective of re-opening the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as the recent tightening of the eight-year-long Egyptian blockade further prevented Israeli passage. After issuing a joint ultimatum for a ceasefire, the United Kingdom and France joined the Israelis on 31 October,

November 3 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1956Suez Crisis
  2. 1986Compact of Free Association
  3. 1986Iran–Contra affair
  4. 1988Sri Lanka
  5. 1992Arkansas
  6. 1994Space Shuttle program
  7. 1996Abdullah Çatlı
  8. 1997Economic sanctions
  9. 20022002 Marib airstrike
  10. 2014One World Trade Center
  11. 20202020 United States presidential election

Also in 1956

  • July 13Dartmouth workshopThe Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.
  • October 14Queen Elizabeth WayThe Queen Elizabeth Way, North America's first intercity divided highway, opens.
  • October 14B. R. AmbedkarB. R. Ambedkar, a leader of India's "Untouchable" caste, publicly converted to Buddhism and became the leader of the Dalit Buddhist movem…
  • July 91956 Amorgos earthquakeThe 7.7 Mw Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The s…
  • January 18Shia IslamIranian Shia cleric Navvab Safavi, founder of the fundamentalist group Fada'iyan-e Islam, was executed for attempting to assassinate Prim…
  • October 29Israel Border PoliceIsraeli Border Police massacred 48 Arab citizens of Kafr Qasim, among them women and children who were returning from work.
  • October 29Suez CanalFollowing the nationalisation of the Egypt's Suez Canal, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom invaded the Sinai Peninsula.
  • November 1KeralaThe Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka were formally created under the States Reorganisation Act.

Everything we record for 1956 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Suez Crisis”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/suez-crisis-1956-november-3, accessed October 25, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Suez Crisis happen?

November 3 1956 — 70 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.