An Egyptian soldier was killed on Monday in a “shooting incident” at the country’s border with Gaza Strip’s Rafah town, said the Egyptian military.
The confirmation of the fatality came as media reports said that the Israeli and Egyptian soldiers had exchanged fire earlier in the day near the Rafah border. The town of Rafah is on the southern tip of Gaza and borders Egypt.
In a separate statement, the Israeli military also said that a “shooting incident on the Egyptian border” took place.
Neither of the countries have so far named the other in their statements so far. They have said that they are conducting investigations into the incident.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Israeli military said, “A few hours ago, there was a shooting incident on the Egyptian border, the subject of the investigation, a dialogue is taking place with the Egyptian side.”
לפני מספר שעות אירעה תקרית ירי בגבול מצרים, הנושא בחקירה, מתקיים שיח עם הצד המצרי
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 27, 2024
On its part, Egyptian military in a post on X said, “The Egyptian Armed Forces are conducting an investigation through the competent authorities regarding a shooting incident in the border area in Rafah, which led to the martyrdom of one of the personnel in charge of insurance.”
#المتحدث_العسكرى : القوات المسلحة المصرية تجرى تحقيق بواسطة الجهات المختصة حيال حادث إطلاق النيران بمنطقة الشريط الحدودى برفح مما أدى إلى إستشهاد أحد العناصر المكلفة بالتأمين .
— المتحدث العسكري (@EgyArmySpox) May 27, 2024
إنستجرام :https://t.co/gCrygjzhkH
ثريدز :https://t.co/nQnX4C54Wb pic.twitter.com/gsfwWX2sPJ
The development comes at a time when tensions between Israel and Egypt are running high over reports of Egypt’s duplicity in the hostage talks and the Israeli seizure of the Rafah border crossing. There have been reports that Egypt has even considered downgrading the diplomatic relationship with Israel amid tensions.
Previously, on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike in Rafah killed at least 45 people, most of whom were civilians. The strike came at a time when Israel stands more isolated than ever at the international stage and has been ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt its operation in Rafah. Separately, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim AA Khan has also sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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