"[4] Different interpretations soon arose between Egypt and Israel concerning sovereignty rights in the demilitarized zone which invariably led to a number of border incidents, some of which resulted in fatalities.

Though a violation of the armistice, it proved an effective counter-measure to Bedouin smuggling and Egyptian sponsored fedayeen infiltrations and sabotage operations.

[8] However, Egypt now demanded the expulsion of all Israeli presence, civilian as well as military, from the demilitarized zone in order to establish facts concerning sovereignty.

[10][11] It had also signed a military pact with Syria and announced a major arms deal with the Soviets that according to U.S. intelligence estimates, "substantially increased the risk of Egyptian-Israeli hostilities.

[13] In addition, a large force of Egyptian soldiers reinforced with artillery, armor and anti-aircraft cannon, took up positions on both sides of the demilitarized zone near Sabcha and Ras-Siram.

On October 28–29, a force of some 200 IDF soldiers under the command of Ariel Sharon attacked an Egyptian military position at Kuntilla, one-hundred miles south of the Nitzana/Auja demilitarized zone,[16] near the Israeli port of Eilat.

[9] The Kuntilla raid, code-named Operation Egged, merely served as a diversion for the main Israeli assault on Egyptian emplacements in and around Sabcha.

The defeat at Sabcha did not dissuade President Nasser from declaring victory over the Israelis and paying tribute to "the heroes of the battle at el-Sabcha."

Nasser flew correspondents to the battle site and attempted to convince them, without success, that the bodies of dead Egyptians strewn about the battlefield were actually Israelis.

[20] Operation Volcano put to an end, once and for all, Egyptian military encroachments into the Demilitarized Zone and established Israel's sovereignty over the Nitzana/Auja region.