Egyptian soldier kills three Israeli border guards

[yankeedoodle]

Egyptian soldier kills three Israeli border guards
Cairo has confirmed the shooter, who died during the attack, was a member of the country's security forces
https://thecradle.co/article-view/25577/egyptian-soldier-kills-three-israeli-border-guards

Three Israeli soldiers were killed on the Israeli-Egyptian border on 3 June by an Egyptian security officer allegedly pursuing drug smugglers.

https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1664980023147737091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1664980023147737091%7Ctwgr%5E19ed344b72abff592250e4e3298bfff6ea773c09%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecradle.co%2Farticle-view%2F25577%2Fegyptian-soldier-kills-three-israeli-border-guards

The bodies of two soldiers, one male and one female, were found at their guard post sometime after 6am after members of their unit were sent to check on their position after they failed to respond to their radios.

Egyptian army spokesman Colonel Gharib Abdel-Hafez Gharib confirmed the shooter was a member of his country's security forces.

"A member of security personnel responsible for observation of the international border line engaged in pursuit of a suspect tied to drug smuggling operations. During the pursuit, the officer crossed the Egyptian-Israeli border line, igniting a firefight, leading to the death of 3 Israeli border guards and the injury of two others, in addition to the death of the crossing officer," the Egyptian official said via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/EgyArmySpox/status/1664968260796796931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1664968260796796931%7Ctwgr%5E19ed344b72abff592250e4e3298bfff6ea773c09%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecradle.co%2Farticle-view%2F25577%2Fegyptian-soldier-kills-three-israeli-border-guards

" Investigation into the matter began immediately afterwards, with security measures being taken to prevent any further infractions. Legal measures were put into effect immediately," he added.

The circumstances are also under investigation by Tel Aviv, including how the Egyptian soldier managed to infiltrate Israel.

"The [army] will investigate the incident as required. Trusts the soldiers and commanders of the who continue to carry out their tasks with determination and perseverance," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/yoavgallant/status/1664967961658925061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1664967961658925061%7Ctwgr%5E19ed344b72abff592250e4e3298bfff6ea773c09%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecradle.co%2Farticle-view%2F25577%2Fegyptian-soldier-kills-three-israeli-border-guards

Early reports said the Israeli military is investigating whether the killings are related to its seizure of some $400,000 of drugs smugglers attempted to bring into Israel using ladders in the same border area the night before.

Gallant and Israeli army Chief of Staff Lt. General Herzi Halevi met on Saturday afternoon to assess the situation.

An Israeli military spokesman, Col Richard Hecht, speculated the attacker "could be [ISIS], it could be a border guard, it could also be a smuggler, and we are still looking into it. It's still not clear what his identity was."

An Israeli military statement said further investigations were being "conducted in full cooperation with the Egyptian army."

The Times of Israel reported in January that the Israeli military had foiled an "unprecedented" attempt by an Israeli Bedouin man to smuggle $14 million worth of drugs into Israel, including 92 kilograms of heroin and cocaine, as well as 28 kilograms of hashish.

The paper further reported that many smuggling attempts on the border with Egypt result in armed clashes, with suspects opening fire at Israeli and Egyptian troops.

Several deadly encounters between Israeli soldiers and drug smugglers occurred in 2021.

Israel says Egyptian smugglers typically throw the drugs, primarily marijuana, and hashish grown in the Sinai Peninsula, over the border to Israelis, who then sell the drugs in Israel.

[abduLMaria]

A strange form of Progress.

[yankeedoodle]

'Unexpected humiliating blow': Israeli media on Egypt border operation
Multiple Israeli media outlets criticize the vulnerability of the Israeli occupation forces pointing to structural deficits following the operation that killed three soldiers.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/unexpected-humiliating-blow:-israeli-media-on-egypt-border-o

Israeli media outlets took special notice of the operation at the Palestinian-Egyptian border which took "Israel" by storm, as the blunders of the Israeli occupation forces have become one of the hottest debated topics within the entity.

The details of the operation, which was described as "brutal", are unclear, prompting troubled discussions in Israeli circles ranging from issues related to the occupation forces' doctrine to basic operational readiness in order to deal with the "multifront war" it faces.

Amos Harel, the military affairs expert for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, pointed to the vulnerability of the Israeli army as he called for "a thorough military investigation into deficiencies that made it [the operation] possible and to review defense along this border," which has seen relative quiet as "Israel" has been able to coordinate security-wise with the successive Egyptian governments.

Harel believes that the event should push the Israeli army to "reexamine the entire defense strategy and assess whether there is an appropriate balance among forces, posts, and means of observation, given the extraordinary length of the border," which is around 240 km long.

The Israeli expert said the incident was "serious and exceptional both in its circumstances and in its fatal outcome," adding that such events are usually pinned on soldiers or police officers who "went crazy", however, this major security breach should be further examined.

What happened at the Ajwa Crossing?
At approximately 9 p, local time, a male soldier and a female soldier took up their positions in an observation tower situated 3 kilometers northwest of the Awja Crossing, also known as "Nitzana."

Later at dawn on Saturday, at around 6 am, gunfire erupted in the vicinity of the observation post, which led the male and female soldiers to inform their command of what they heard and they decided to conduct a search operation around the tower. Contact with the soldiers was lost, and it remained severed until a military force was dispatched to their location.

By approximately 9 am, the responding force discovered that both soldiers had been killed and their weapons found beside them. In response, an extensive search operation was initiated, and additional military reinforcements, including airborne units and fighter helicopters, were deployed.

Around noon, the spokesperson for the Israeli army made an announcement stating that a renewed exchange of gunfire had taken place in the area. Approximately thirty minutes later, it was reported that an armed individual, identified as an Egyptian citizen wearing Egyptian police attire, had been killed. Following this, the Israeli army confirmed the death of a third Israeli soldier and the injury of an officer.

Unanswered questions
The fact that an Egyptian security officer successfully crossed the border, bypassing all security measures, to later kill two Israeli soldiers before exchanging fire with an Israeli force and killing a third soldier has completely shattered the image of the Israeli occupation army. The situation prompted senior experts and commentators to ask difficult questions with no answers amid calls for an investigation into this horrific failure of the occupation army, according to Israeli media.

Military affairs analyst for Israeli Channel 12, Nir Dvori, said, "The harsh incident in the south indicates a weakness in operational readiness on the ground and raises questions about future readiness in regard to smuggling from Sinai."

He pointed out that three points must be taken into consideration, detailing them as: the way the Egyptian security official who carried out the operation "infiltrated through the fence," the fact that he was not detected and remained under the radar for a long time of time, and the fact that the two soldiers were wounded with no one knowing about it for many hours.

According to Dvori, this is an indication of "weakness in the force that runs the area. Within borders that are more than 200 km long, with sensors and radars installed throughout... despite all that, the army failed."

In this context, he called for continuing to draw lessons, at a time when three Israeli soldiers are being buried.

'Unexpected blow'
The Israeli occupation forces were dealt a severe and unexpected blow in an unforeseen area on the border with Egypt. Israeli commentators describe the strike as "painful" and "embarrassing" on both the political and military levels.

The Israeli media extensively examined the failures exposed by this operation, shedding light on the shortcomings of the Israeli occupation army. Yossi Melman, an Israeli expert in security affairs, said during an interview for Israeli Channel 12, "If it is confirmed that the Egyptian soldier managed to cross the border undetected and lay in wait for the Israeli soldiers, then it signifies a profound failure on the part of the Israeli army." Melman further emphasized, "The ongoing joint investigation is unlikely to provide satisfactory answers to the challenging questions that arise from this incident."

Melman recalled a similar incident that occurred in 1985 when seven Israelis were killed in Sinai on the Red Sea coast, where an Egyptian police officer opened fire on Israelis. He mentioned that this incident has now been repeated with an Egyptian police officer opening fire on Israelis.

He pointed out that it is very difficult for the Egyptian police officer to cross the border, and if he did cross the border, it would be a double failure. Melman questioned Israeli security's inadequacies, "How did the surveillance personnel not detect him? Where are the sensors in the fence, and where are the cameras there? What was the real intention of the police officer who opened fire?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsZKjCZlJNU&t=23s

[yankeedoodle]

Tensions Flare as Egypt Bans Public Funeral for Soldier Who Killed Three Israelis 
On Tuesday, security forces cordoned off roads leading to the deceased's home in the middle-class neighborhood of Ain Shams, north-east of Cairo, and policemen were deployed around the house.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/tensionsflare-as-egypt-bans-public-funeral-for-soldier-who-killed-three-israelis/

Tensions flared in Cairo as Egyptian authorities imposed a ban on activists and family members holding a public funeral for Mohammad Salah, a conscript whose alleged involvement in the killing of three Israeli soldiers has strained Egyptian-Israeli relations, The New Arab reported.

The Egyptian authorities on Tuesday banned activists and family members of Mohammad Salah from conducting a public funeral outside the deceased home in the capital Cairo, allegedly fearing he could be celebrated as a 'martyr'.

Salah, a security force member serving along the Egyptian border with Israel, is believed to be involved in killing three Israeli soldiers after he entered Israel's territories and was killed during an exchange of fire on Saturday.

On Tuesday, security forces cordoned off roads leading to the deceased's home in the middle-class neighborhood of Ain Shams, north-east of Cairo, and policemen were deployed around the house.

Eyewitnesses told The New Arab that "pro-Palestine activists and members of opposition groups who had attempted to reach the site through the nearby underground metro station were hunted down by security forces and forced to back off."

Intensive security presence in the area persists, intending to restrict any possible public gatherings for mourning Salah, according to local sources.

Earlier on Monday, Salah had been given a low-profile burial in his home village of Al-Amar Al-Kubra in Egypt's Al-Qalyubia province north of Cairo. The funeral was attended only by Salah's brother and uncle, who were previously interrogated by Egyptian authorities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-ibl4d3m7o

While Salah has been referred to by the Israeli media and government as "an assailant," "terrorist" or "gunman," Egyptian and Arab social media activists and several journalists, even those loyal to the regime, have described him as a "hero" and "martyr."