Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day marks October 6, 1973, when Egyptian and Syrian forces launched attacks against Israeli positions in Sinai and the Golan Heights. Egyptian troops crossed the Suez Canal and breached the Bar Lev Line, reversing part of the military situation created by Israel’s occupation of Sinai in 1967. The war later turned, a ceasefire followed, and military gains and losses were substantial on all sides.

In Egyptian national memory the crossing is celebrated as a restoration of military confidence and a foundation for later diplomacy. Disengagement agreements, the Camp David process and the 1979 peace treaty led to Israel’s staged withdrawal from most of Sinai by 1982, with Taba returned after arbitration in 1989. Commemoration honours Egyptian service and sacrifice while accurate history avoids claiming that the entire peninsula was recovered militarily on October 6 itself.

Article 129 of Labour Law 14 of 2025 entitles private-sector workers to fully paid leave on official holidays designated by the competent minister. If work is necessary, the worker receives the ordinary wage for the day plus twice that wage, or—on a written request—a substitute day off. Ministry of Labour Decree 294 of 2025 lists the recurring paid holidays and permits the minister to move one to the beginning or end of the working week. Public employees are covered through the Prime Minister’s dated decisions. There is therefore no automatic weekend-substitution formula: the announced date for the year controls, while examinations and essential services may follow separately published schedules. Decree 294 lists October 6 and permits an end-of-week adjustment by later ministerial decision. The Presidency’s current 2026 calendar retains Tuesday, October 6, so a Thursday substitute must not be invented.