Raids and reprisals between the Arabs and Israel, and Egypt's seizure of the Suez Canal, led to Israel's invasion of the Sinai Peninsula. While French and British troops took control of the canal, the Israelis took Gaza and Sharm el Sheikh at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula that controls access to the Gulf of Aqaba and the Indian Ocean. Israel withdrew in 1957 after its access to the gulf was guaranteed by the United Nations.