An Egyptian soldier was killed after an exchange of fire with Israel

At lunchtime many reported Arab media that Egyptian The army opened fire on the Gaza Strip border with Egypt. Israel initially fired warning shots before opening fire as well, killing an Egyptian soldier.

Israeli military Confirmed a few hours Later, an “incident” occurred, and Egypt was contacted to clarify the circumstances. No one on the Israeli side should be harmed.

A spokesman for the Egyptian Defense Forces said, “The Egyptian Defense Forces are conducting an investigation with the competent authorities regarding the shooting in the Rafah border area.” Egyptian army .

Alexander Atarodim, a Middle East expert, global analyst and former senior advisor at the OECD, tells DN that it is important to be careful about drawing hasty conclusions because they may be a one-off.

– But if this happens again, the situation could escalate and there will be negative consequences as Egypt is also drawn into the conflict.

The fire switch comes into place there The relationship between the two countries is already very tense. Just over two weeks ago, Israel defied Egyptian orders and forcefully seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The answer was that Egypt issued a statement that it refuses to coordinate aid convoys through Rafah as long as Israel controls the border.

The relationship between the two countries was very important because peace talks between Hamas and Israel took place in Cairo several times.

Egypt is also very important to Israel because of its proximity to the border with Gaza. They believe it is important to be able to play a constructive role in these peace negotiations, says Alexander Atarodi.

What the next step is is currently unclear, but Egypt has launched an investigation after Monday's shootout. One explanation for what happened might be frustrated soldiers.

– It is normal for some soldiers to lose their composure and behavior, but nevertheless, one should not exaggerate the importance of this particular incident, says Alexander Atarodi.

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