Deadly Clashes on Israeli-Egyptian Border: Soldier and civilian killed by gunman

An army statement said the gunman was inside Israeli territory when he opened fire on soldiers, killing one man and one woman. The army informed that an assailant was also killed in Israeli territory near the border, about which more detailed information is not provided.

Media reported that the clashes took place near the Nitzan border checkpoint, located about 40 kilometers southeast of where Israel borders Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is used to import goods from Egypt to Israel or the Gaza Strip controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.

Similar clashes on the Israeli-Egyptian border are rare. Criminals often try to smuggle drugs across the border, and Islamist militant groups are active in Egypt’s troubled Sinai region.

In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty and the two countries have close security relations.

Ten years ago, Israel built a border fence to stop migrants from Africa and Islamic militants from the Sinai desert from entering the country.