SINAI. Sinai campaign 1956. The Sinai Campaign, also known as OPERATION KADESH broke out in October 1956. Following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser, an agreement was reached between Israel and the governments of Britain and France, who decided to take control of the Canal by force. Within 100 hours the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, and, in line with the agreement, stopped 18 kilometers from the Suez Canal. Under Soviet threat and pressure from the United States and the United Nations, the IDF withdrew from the Sinai early in 1957. These are Egyptian prisoners-of-war captured by the IDF Iin the Sinai campaign.