The actions of an Egyptian police officer who killed three Israeli servicemen today are in no way representative of the strong security cooperation between Israel and Egypt. This was stated by sources close to the office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, quoted by the newspaper "I24 news". An Egyptian police officer today killed three members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Negev desert in southern Israel near the border with Egypt during a firefight, the IDF confirmed, according to which the Egyptian agent infiltrated Israel earlier, killing two soldiers, a man and a woman, who were in an observation post. Subsequently, the Egyptian policeman and the Israeli military engaged in a firefight, which ended with the killing of the agent and another member of the IDF. For his part, the Egyptian defense ministry confirmed the killing of a member of its security forces in a firefight on the border between Egypt and Israel. Egyptian Defense Ministry spokesman Gharib Abdel Hafez wrote on Facebook: “A member of the security forces pursuing drug traffickers passed through a checkpoint, which was followed by a firefight with Israeli security forces. which resulted in three deaths on the Israeli side and the death of the member of the Egyptian security forces”.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he was "deeply saddened by the death of three soldiers following the security incident on the Egyptian border. The IDF troops conducted their missions with great diligence, but the result was disastrous. Gallant added that he conducted an assessment of the situation with military leaders. Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities have revealed the identity of two of the three soldiers killed. They are Sergeant Ohad Dahan, 20, and Sergeant Lia Ben-Nun, 19.
The firefight that caused the death of the three Israeli soldiers began a few hours after the security forces thwarted a drug trafficking attempt worth 1,5 million shekels (about 370 euros) and the IDF are investigating to verify a connection between the facts. The border between Israel and Egypt is largely peaceful, however, there are frequent attempts to smuggle drugs over Israel's high fence. In recent years there have been several incidents of shootings between smugglers and IDF soldiers. The Egyptian military also frequently shoots drug traffickers, as well as jihadist groups in the northern Sinai desert, sometimes setting off accidental fires across the border.
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