JERUSALEM: In a rare incident near the Israel-Egypt border, three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egypt’s security forces were killed on Saturday in an exchange of fire, according to official sources from both sides.
The Israeli army reported that an Egyptian assailant shot dead two soldiers early in the morning while they were securing a military post at the Egyptian border. This initiated a manhunt during which a third soldier lost his life.
The assailant, identified as an Egyptian policeman, was subsequently killed by Israeli troops after being discovered within Israeli territory. The Israeli army stated that an investigation is being conducted in close cooperation with the Egyptian army.
Additionally, a non-commissioned officer sustained light injuries and was evacuated to a hospital, as confirmed by the Israeli army.
The Egyptian army spokesperson explained that a member of the security forces had pursued drug smugglers and, during the chase, had crossed the security fence at the border, leading to an exchange of fire.
Egypt became the first Arab country to establish peace with Israel following the Camp David accords in 1978, although relations between the two nations have not been fully normalized. Despite occasional incidents, their shared border has remained largely peaceful, with the exception of an insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula and sporadic exchanges of fire between drug smugglers and Israeli troops.
Initially, the Israeli army refrained from confirming media reports of the first two deaths until families were notified. The army later identified one of the slain soldiers as Lia Ben Nun, 19, and stated that a barrier along the Israel-Egypt border would be investigated to determine how it was breached.
Just hours before the tragic shooting, Israeli soldiers had successfully foiled a drug smuggling attempt at the border, confiscating contraband goods valued at approximately 1.5 million shekels ($399,777), according to a spokesperson.
Incidents of Violence Along Israeli-Egyptian Border
Previous incidents along the Israel-Egypt border include the 2011 attack by assailants from Sinai that claimed the lives of eight Israelis in a triple ambush north of Eilat. Pursuing Israeli forces killed seven attackers and five Egyptian police officers.
In 2012, an Israeli soldier and three militants who infiltrated from Sinai were killed in a clash along the border. Furthermore, in 2014, two Israeli soldiers were wounded by unidentified individuals who fired an anti-tank weapon from Sinai during an attempted drug-smuggling operation. In 2015, rockets launched from Sinai struck southern Israel without causing casualties, and the Islamic State group later claimed responsibility.
