The spokesman of the Egyptian army announced in a statement that one of the Egyptian security forces was killed in a shootout between the country’s forces and Israeli soldiers near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
An hour later, on the evening of Tuesday, June 7, a high-ranking Egyptian security source warned Al-Qaira News, which is close to the country’s government, against endangering the lives of Egyptian forces.
He said preliminary investigations showed that Egyptian security forces responded to an exchange of fire between “Israeli forces and members of the Palestinian resistance, which resulted in shooting in several directions.”
This security source added that Egypt will take the necessary measures to prevent such incidents.
The shooting between the Egyptian and Israeli forces occurred a few hours after the Israeli army airstrike on the settlement of Palestinian refugees in the west of Rafah city, which according to the health authorities of Gaza has left 45 dead and has faced international condemnation.
Following these criticisms, which were also expressed by senior European officials, the Prime Minister of Israel admitted on Monday that a “tragic mistake” occurred during the attack of the country’s army on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Since the start of Israel’s military attack on Gaza, Israel insists that it adheres to international law, while the UN High Courts, which have called for an end to the country’s attack on Rafah, say that they will review Israel’s attack on Rafah. Put.
The Israeli military had previously said it had launched an investigation into the civilian deaths after an attack on a Hamas facility killed two senior militants.
Sunday night’s attack, which appeared to be one of the deadliest since the start of the war, brought the death toll to more than 36,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between soldiers and civilians in its statistics.
“Despite our best efforts not to harm innocent civilians, a tragic mistake occurred last night,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in his speech to the Israeli parliament on Monday. “We are investigating the incident and will announce the outcome as this is our policy.”
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the Israeli army announced in a statement on Monday the 7th of June that there was a shooting at the Egyptian border with the forces of this country. According to the army, this incident is under investigation and negotiations are ongoing with the Egyptians.
After that, the Israeli media announced that an Egyptian soldier was killed in this incident.
This is the first Egyptian soldier who has been killed since the start of the Ghara War on 15 Mehr.
The situation at the Rafah border crossing is reported to be extremely tense. Israeli forces have taken control of the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side of this border strip between Egypt and Gaza since about three weeks ago and have increased their military attacks in this area.
Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979 after several conflicts. However, the relationship between the two countries has had ups and downs since the beginning of the current war.
Egypt is concerned that more Palestinians will be displaced in southern Gaza as a result of these attacks.
Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979 after several conflicts. However, the relationship between the two countries has had ups and downs since the beginning of the current war.
Just two weeks after the start of the Gaza war, Israel announced that one of its tanks had “accidentally” hit Egyptian positions near the border with Gaza.
Egypt also announced that several Egyptian border guards were injured as a result of this incident.
Three months before the start of the Gaza war, three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian security officer were killed in a clash on the border.
Return of the European Union to Rafah
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said European foreign ministers on Monday gave the green light to reactivate the EU’s border mission in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, he said that the re-establishment of this mission needs the support of Egypt, Israel and the Palestinians.
On Monday morning, ahead of the monthly meeting of EU foreign ministers, Mr. Burrell also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of using false anti-Semitic allegations against the International Court of Justice for his own political purposes.
The union’s border assistance mission in Rafah was canceled in 2007 when the extremist group Hamas took control of Gaza.
This civilian mission needs the approval and unanimity of 27 member states of the Union. According to some diplomats, it is unlikely that this mission will be carried out before the conflict in Rafah stops.
The Rafah crossing is the main route for aid from Egypt and has been closed since Israeli forces took control of the area.
