An Egyptian soldier and three Israeli soldiers were killed this Saturday, June 3, in exchanges of fire on their common border. The Egyptian army stated that a member of its security forces crossed the Israeli border while chasing drug traffickers, which led to an exchange of fire. For its part, Israel claims that an Egyptian policeman opened fire on two Israelis at a border post and that the policeman and another Israeli soldier were later killed.
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The border between Egypt and Israel was the scene of a rare exchange of fire between the Israeli army and an Egyptian policeman. No party confirmed the exact cause of these clashes which left three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian policeman dead.
According to the Egyptian army, a “member of the security forces who was chasing drug traffickers” crossed a border checkpoint, and there was an “exchange of fire with the Israeli security forces, resulting in three deaths on the Egyptian side.” Israeli”. He also announced that the Egyptian had passed away.
According to Israel, the bodies of two Israeli soldiers were discovered at a border post near the Harif military base, near the border with Egypt, when they did not respond to radio communications. An Israeli military spokesman claimed that the assailant had “infiltrated” from Egypt.
There, the Israeli army began a manhunt until “Israeli soldiers identified the assailant on Israeli territory,” as the army said in a statement. Shooting ensued and the Egyptian was killed, along with a third Israeli soldier.
One of the two soldiers killed in the first attack was a woman, 19-year-old Lia Ben Nun, and the third, 20-year-old Ohad Dahan, according to a statement. The identity of the other Israeli has not been confirmed.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the Israeli army, explained that his soldiers foiled an attempt to smuggle drugs across the border hours before the first incident, leading to clashes. Troops seized contraband worth an estimated NIS 1.5 million ($400,000). It is not clear if these are the same drug traffickers that the Egyptian policeman was allegedly chasing.
Hecht announced that an investigation was being carried out into the whole thing, in cooperation with the Egyptian military.
For his part, Egyptian Defense Minister General Mohamed Zaki also said he had spoken by phone with his Israeli counterpart about “mutual coordination to take measures to prevent this type of incident in the future.” The Egyptian minister offered his condolences for the three dead Israelis.
First fatal incident in more than a decade
These deadly clashes are the first in more than a decade between Egypt and Israel.
In 2011, terrorists entered Israel and killed eight Israelis, six of them civilians. The last attack had occurred in 2012, when the Ansar Jerusalem jihadist group claimed responsibility for an attack on the border that killed an Israeli soldier.
At the border, goods are imported from Egypt destined for Israel or the Gaza Strip, but criminals sometimes smuggle drugs as well, which can lead to exchanges of fire between smugglers and Israeli soldiers.
Jihadist groups are also active in northern Egypt’s Sinai.
Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement in 1979 and normalized their relations. They now have close security ties, but many Egyptians do not support this normalization.
With EFE, AFP and AP
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