An Israeli delegation, headed by a high-level envoy, arrived to Cairo early this morning under a cloud of secrecy. The purpose of the visit is to conduct talks with Egyptian officials in an attempt to contain growing tensions between the two countries since Israel fired at and killed five Egyptian soldiers on Egyptian territory.
The envoy has met with senior members of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and senior members of Egyptian intelligence.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has expressed his "sorrow" for the death of the soldiers and announced that Israel commits to a joint investigation with Egypt on the incident. In a response, the Egyptian government released a statement condemning the killing of the soldiers while weighing up whether or not to recall the Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv.
The incident, which took place in Sinai, near the Taba border crossing, has fueled public anger in Egypt. Protests have taken place in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo and in several other Egyptian cities, demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Egypt. Last night one protester managed to take down the Israeli flag from the multistorey building that houses the embassy, replacing it with the Egyptian flag.
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