On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the assassination of three Israeli soldiers by an Egyptian member of the security services and demanded a joint investigation between Cairo and Jerusalem.
Egypt has stated that it is cooperating with Israel’s investigation into the Saturday incident.
Israel has communicated directly with the Egyptian government. During a televised address, Netanyahu assured his cabinet that the two-nation investigation would be exhaustive and thorough.
To prevent future terrorist attacks of this magnitude, the president stated that “we will refresh procedures, methods of operations, and measures.”
More details about the unusual border incident emerged on Sunday. The border is generally calm because the two countries collaborate on security, but there are frequent reports of drug smuggling, including one that occurred just before the deadly violence erupted.
The Israeli military claims that an Egyptian member of the security services who crossed the border early Saturday morning opened fire, killing two Israeli soldiers.
It took several hours for their bodies to be discovered due to the remoteness of their desert outpost.
According to Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari in an interview with Israel’s YNET news, “from that moment on, a terrorist event was declared, leading to sweeps of the area.”
“A drone was launched, and a suspicious person was located within 1.5 kilometers inside Israel.”
The two sides eventually clashed, and the Egyptian guard and a third Israeli soldier were killed in the ensuing firefight.
The Egyptian military reported on Saturday that an Egyptian border guard was killed in an exchange of gunfire with three Israelis while pursuing smugglers across the border.
On Sunday, two Egyptian sources told the media that investigators had arrived at the scene and were examining the guard’s body to determine what had happened.
They claimed that the Egyptian guard’s coworkers and family members were questioned to determine whether he was a member of any political groups or suffered from mental health issues.
Egypt shares a border with Israel, with whom it signed a peace treaty in 1979, that stretches for more than 200 kilometers (124 miles).
