Part 2/10:
The year was 1968 when Israeli paratroopers conducted a raid on Beirut Airport, a move that incited French President Charles de Gaulle to impose an arms embargo on Israel in 1969. This ruling effectively stifled any military agreements between Israel and France, thereby withholding five missile boats that the Israeli Navy had paid for and desperately needed for operational patrols in the Mediterranean. The boats sat idly in Cherbourg while the Israeli military strategy evolved in response to the growing threats from neighboring states.