On March 9, Egyptian forces also started to withdraw, starting with the 2nd division and followed in the second half of the month by the 4th. An editorial in Al-Ahram on the same day described the crisis from the Egyptian perspective: an Egyptian deployment had prevented Israel from attacking Syria, prompting the Israeli cabinet to act diplomatically rather than militarily. The Egyptian media, mostly silent on the affair since February 24,[1] described the outcome as a brilliant victory for the Egyptian army.[5]