Three Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday by an "Egyptian policeman" undercover in Israel who was later shot dead, according to the Israeli military, in a rare incident after which Israeli and Egyptian authorities reaffirmed their cooperation.
According to the Egyptian army's version, a "member of the (Egyptian) security forces chasing drug traffickers" crossed a checkpoint between the two countries. There followed an "exchange of fire which left three dead on the Israeli side" in addition to the death of the Egyptian.
On Saturday morning, the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, shot dead, were discovered at a guard post near the Harif military base, about 100 km south of the Gaza Strip, near the border with the Egypt, an Israeli military spokesman said, saying the assailant apparently "infiltrated" from Egypt.
A hunt was then launched in search of the alleged killer, and "at noon" he was located in Israeli territory, the army said in a statement.
Exchanges of fire ensued and the assailant, identified as an Egyptian policeman, was killed along with a third Israeli soldier, 20-year-old Ohad Dahan, the text said.
One of the two soldiers killed in the first attack was a woman, Lia Ben Nun, 19, the army said. The unit responsible for patrolling the Israeli-Egyptian border is a mixed unit. The other soldier killed was identified as 20-year-old Ori Izhak Iluz.
A military spokesman said "grey areas" remained on the two incidents and on the motives of the alleged assailant.
The Israeli army seeks in particular to understand how the Egyptian managed to cross the barrier several meters high which runs along this border.
In the evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement described the "incident" as "serious and highly unusual, promising a "full" investigation.
His Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and his Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, however, stressed the importance of cooperation and relations with Egypt, linked to the Jewish state by a peace treaty.
The army is conducting "a thorough investigation (...) in collaboration with the Egyptian armed forces", said Herzi Halevi in a press release.
Mr. Gallant notably highlighted the collaboration with Egypt in a press release published after a telephone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Zaki during which he underlined "the importance of the ties between the two countries", according to a spokesperson. army word.
Mohamed Zaki also noted "the joint coordination to take the necessary measures to avoid the repetition of incidents of this kind in the future", according to an army spokesman.
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, following the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978. Many Egyptians, however, do not support this normalization.
The border between the two countries is generally quiet. However, it is the scene of regular drug smuggling attempts, which in recent years have resulted in exchanges of fire between smugglers and Israeli soldiers stationed along the border.
In 2012, the jihadist group Ansar Jerusalem claimed responsibility for an attack on the Egyptian-Israeli border that claimed the life of an Israeli soldier.
Hours before Saturday's attack, Israeli soldiers thwarted a drug smuggling attempt at the border, seizing contraband goods worth an estimated 1.5 million shekels (373,000 euros), according to the carrier. military speech.
However, he clarified that no link had yet been established between this take and the attack.
06/03/2023 21:44:53 - Jerusalem (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
