The Egyptian army officially commented on the Rafah crossing incident today, after the Israeli army announced that a clash had occurred that led to the death of an Egyptian soldier.

The military spokesman for the Egyptian army, Colonel Staff Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez, said today, Monday, that the Egyptian armed forces are conducting an investigation by the competent authorities regarding the “shooting incident” in the border area in Rafah.

The Egyptian military spokesman revealed that “one of the personnel in charge of insurance was martyred” during the shooting.

Rafah clashes

Regarding the Rafah clashes, the Israeli army confirmed, today, Monday, that an exchange of fire took place between its forces and Egyptian soldiers, in the border area between Palestinian Rafah and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

An Israeli army spokesman said, in a brief statement, that “a few hours ago, a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border.”

He explained that “the matter is under investigation, and a dialogue is underway with the Egyptian side in this regard.”

The Israeli Channel 12 news said, “An unusual incident occurred at the Rafah crossing, where an exchange of fire broke out today between the Israeli army and the Egyptian forces, and an Egyptian soldier was killed.”

She claimed that “according to reports, the Egyptian soldiers were the ones who opened fire, and the Israeli army responded to them,” stressing that there were no casualties on the Israeli side.

She indicated that “the exchange of fire took place against the backdrop of tensions between Egypt and Israel surrounding the Israeli army’s seizure of the Rafah crossing, and the operation carried out by the Israeli army deep inside Rafah during the night.”

Egyptian-Israeli tensions

The Rafah crossing incident today comes at a time when tension has loomed over relations between Egypt and Israel since May 7, following Tel Aviv’s control over the Palestinian side of the crossing, and Cairo’s refusal to coordinate with it to manage it, before the latter decided to join South Africa’s call in court. International Justice, which accuses the Israeli authorities of committing genocide in Gaza.

Egyptian-Israeli relations in general are witnessing unprecedented tension since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, following an attack launched by the movement on settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip.

The war claimed the lives of more than 35,000 Palestinians and injured nearly 100,000, in addition to thousands still under the rubble, in addition to hundreds of thousands who were forced to flee to save their lives.

Egypt, which has repeatedly warned Tel Aviv of the consequences of the current escalation, is sponsoring faltering negotiations alongside Qatar and the United States in order to reach a ceasefire agreement and an exchange of hostages between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, but the negotiations have not yet borne fruit amid mutual accusations between various parties. Parties about its failure.

A few days ago, a high-ranking Egyptian source said that Cairo’s respect for its international obligations and treaties does not prevent it from using all available scenarios to preserve its national security and preserve the historical rights of the Palestinian people, according to what was reported by official Egyptian media.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had previously warned Israel, days after the outbreak of the war, of “the disappearance of peace” if the idea of ​​liquidating the Palestinian issue continued, as he said.