Mordechai Hod

Aluf (Maj. Gen.) Mordechai (Motti) Hod (Hebrew: ‏מרדכי הוד‎; 28 September 1926 – 29 June 2003) was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six-Day War.

During the 1956 Suez Crisis Hod led several support missions, including fighter escort for planes laden with paratroopers and air cover for troops on the ground.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser had closed the Straits of Tiran, and Israel was facing the possibility of a three front war against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

Hod's strike, leaving only 12 planes to defend Israel, and aided with intelligence from Mossad and Aman, succeeded in destroying most of the Egyptian Air Forces.

"[2] Hod also had to deal with the USS Liberty incident, in which Israeli aircraft attacked an American ship off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula, killing 34 servicemen.

The War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt would last from 1968 to 1970, and during that time Hod directed airstrikes near the Suez Canal as well as deeper into Egyptian territory.

Because of the war he was quickly recalled to act as the Air Force advisor to Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Hofi, who was then in charge of Israeli Northern Command.