Israel and Egypt conduct joint investigation into deadly border attack

A statement by the Israeli army added, “The military institution is working in full and close cooperation with Egypt to find out the circumstances of the incident and draw lessons,” referring to the attack that took place on Sunday, during which 3 Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian security personnel were killed.

The statement added that the head of the Foreign Relations Brigade, Brigadier General Effie Defren, leads coordination with the Egyptian army representatives.

According to the results of the initial investigations of the Israeli army into the incident, “there are a number of mistakes made by the army personnel in this operation.”

Israel says that an Egyptian security personnel infiltrated the border and carried out the attack, while the Egyptian army confirmed that the security personnel were pursuing drug smugglers.

According to the Israeli army, the border incident took place as follows:

• In the early morning hours, during an activity to secure the borders, a male and female soldier was killed at a military post, as a result of gunfire on the Egyptian border.
• After that, additional forces arrived at the site and began combing the area.
• In the afternoon hours, the military forces spotted the infiltrator himself inside Israeli territory, during which an exchange of fire broke out, during which the soldiers and commanders managed to kill the infiltrator.
• During the engagement, one soldier was killed and a non-commissioned officer was slightly wounded.
• The perpetrator of the attack was an Egyptian soldier, and the investigation into the incident is being carried out in full and close cooperation with the Egyptian army.
• The commander of the southern military region conducts a field investigation, accompanied by the commander of the 80th regional division and other commanders.
• The army forces continue combing the area to ensure that there are no other infiltrators.