A member of the Egyptian security forces was killed near the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip and an investigation is underway, an Egyptian army spokesman said on Monday, after the Israeli army reported a shooting at the border.
Al Qahera News, the Egyptian state television station, quoted a “knowledgeable,” unnamed security official it appeared that gunfire had been exchanged between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters, and the ensuing battle resulted in the death of the soldier. The New York Times could not independently verify the circumstances of the shooting.
The shooting reflected escalating tension at the border since early May, when the southern Gaza town of Rafah became the focus of Israel's military campaign to defeat Hamas, an armed group that led a deadly attack on Israel on October 7.
Israeli forces early this month took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, the main channel between the territory and Egypt.
The Israeli army also reported a shooting at the border on Monday, but provided no further details.
“A few hours ago, a shooting incident took place on the Egyptian border,” the Israeli army said in a statement. “The incident is under investigation. There is a dialogue with the Egyptian side.”
This was written by the spokesperson of the Egyptian army, Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez on social media that a member of the Egyptian security forces was killed in the shooting near the border crossing.
The Israeli seizure of the Rafah crossing, in what Israel called a limited operation in Rafah, the flow of aid stopped into the enclave through that portal. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the operation is crucial to defeat Hamas' remaining battalions and destroy military infrastructure, including tunnels.
Rafah's population had grown to more than a million as Gazans driven from their homes earlier in the conflict fled to the area. Egyptian authorities said they were concerned about an exodus of refugees across the border and into its territory. Since then, most people from Rafah have fled to areas further from the Egyptian border.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly said they needed to control the border crossing and a buffer zone along Gaza's southern border, known in Israel as the Philadelphi Corridor, to prevent the blocking tunnels built by Hamas and runs from Gaza to Egypt.