An Egyptian security force member was killed in a shooting near the Rafah-Gaza border crossing and an investigation is ongoing, an Egyptian military spokesman said on Monday, after the Israeli military reported a shooting on the border.
Details about what happened are sparse, and neither country has revealed who fired the shots. But the shooting reflects rising tensions between the two countries since early May, when the southern Gaza city of Rafah became the focal point of Israel’s military campaign to defeat Hamas, an armed group that launched its campaign on October 1 Launched a deadly attack on Israel on September 7.
Earlier this month, Israeli forces took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, the main link between the territory and Egypt.
“A few hours ago, a shooting occurred on the Egyptian border. The incident is under review. The Israeli military said in a statement that it was in dialogue with the Egyptian side.
An Egyptian security force member was killed in the incident near the crossing, Egyptian army spokesman Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez wrote on social media.
Israel seized the Rafah crossing in what it called a limited operation against Rafah, preventing aid from flowing into the enclave through the gateway. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was crucial to defeating Hamas’ remaining forces and destroying its military infrastructure, including tunnels.
In the early days of the conflict, Rafah’s population exceeded one million as Gazans fled their homes and fled to the region. Egyptian authorities say they are concerned about refugees fleeing across the border into Egyptian territory. Since then, most people have fled Rafah for areas farther from the Egyptian border.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly said they need to control the crossing and buffer zone on Gaza’s southern border, known in Israel as the Philadelphia Corridor, to block the Hamas-built tunnel from Gaza to Egypt.
