One Egyptian border security personnel and three members of the Israeli forces responsible for border security were killed in the early hours of Saturday. The incident also left two other Israeli soldiers injured.   

It all started when an Egyptian border security personnel, chasing drug smugglers, crossed the border between Egypt and Israel, only to be killed in the ensuing crossfire, according to a statement by the Spokesman of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Gharib Abdel-Hafez Gharib, on Saturday evening.

Gharib noted that operations to search and secure the area have not ceased and that all the legal proceedings relevant to the incident were being taken.

In a phone call, Egypt’s Minister of Defence and Military Production, General Mohamed Zaki, discussed Saturday the circumstances that led to the incident with Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant.

The two ministers also discussed coordination to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future, according to the Egyptian military spokesman.