An Egyptian soldier was allegedly killed Monday in an exchange of fire between Egyptian and Israeli forces near the Rafah crossing.
“A few hours ago a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border. The incident is under review and discussions are being held with the Egyptians,” the IDF said in a terse statement.
No Israeli soldiers were wounded, but several Egyptian soldiers were injured in the shootout.
The unusual incident began when an Egyptian soldier opened fire on armored fighters from the IDF’s 401st Brigade, who responded with live fire and without tank assistance, Israeli reporter Doron Kadosh reported, citing Israeli military sources.
Egypt laid the blame for the incident on Israel.
Egyptian sources told the “Al Araby” news outlet that the shooting at the Rafah crossing “started from the Israeli side.”
In recent hours, there has also been a quiet dialogue between senior officials in Israel and Egypt, according to Israeli media.
The Rafah crossing straddles the border between Egypt and Gaza, and has been a major entry point for humanitarian aid into the enclave. Cairo closed the crossing after Israeli forces captured the Gaza side from Hamas terrorists, and refused to reopen it until Israel relinquished control to the Palestinian Authority, from which Hamas seized the site.
Israel has declined to hand over control of the site over security concerns.
On Sunday night, Israel’s War Cabinet voted unanimously to continue the IDF operation in Rafah “to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war.”
Egypt recently threatened to suspend its 45-year-old peace treaty with Israel if the IDF further expands its war against Hamas, and joined the South African lawsuit against Israel in the International Court of Justice, accusing the Jewish State of committing genocide against civilians in Gaza.
