Shooting on the Israel-Egypt border: What we know

An exchange of fire reportedly took place on the border between Egypt and Gaza, between Egyptian guards and Israeli soldiers.

Arab media, including Al Arabiya, reported that border guards opened fire on Israeli soldiers in Rafah, and they responded.

The Israeli army confirmed on its Telegram channel that a “shooting incident” had occurred on the Egyptian border on Monday, but did not provide any other details.

The Israeli army said, “The incident is under review and discussions are being held with the Egyptians.”

A journalist for the Israeli KAN news channel X wrote officially on Twitter: “An unusual exchange of fire was recorded this morning between IDF forces and Egyptian army soldiers in the Rafah crossing area. An Egyptian soldier was killed in the incident. There were no casualties.” . Casualties on the Israeli side.”

The Jordanian news agency Roya News said that the Israeli military sergeant, a unit of the Israeli army’s Military Intelligence Directorate, asked the Israeli media not to report the shooting.

It comes after Israel launched raids on the Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, which Israel said hit a Hamas facility, killing two senior figures.

Forty-five people were killed in the attack, according to the Associated Press, citing the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between militant and civilian deaths. This brings the total reported death toll in Gaza to more than 36,000.

About half of Gaza’s population lives in Rafah, many of whom were displaced from their homes and forced to flee as a result of Israel’s war on Hamas after the Palestinian armed group attacked Israel on 7 October.

France, an ally of Israel, said it was “angry” at what happened in Rafah.

President Emmanuel Macron wrote on the X website: “These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.”

All this happened despite the fact that the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Israel to halt its military operation.

The court said it was “not convinced” that Israel was doing enough to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Gaza. The International Court of Justice also called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.

Although court rulings are considered binding, there is no mechanism to implement them.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said at the time: “The failure of the International Court of Justice to directly link the end of the military operation in Rafah to the release of the hostages and Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism is a grave moral failure.”

On Sunday, Hamas fired rockets at the Tel Aviv area of ​​Israel for the first time in about four months, according to the Associated Press.

Updated 5/27/24, 11:18 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.