AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)

OCCUPIED JERUSAL-EM: Israel on Sunday buried three soldiers killed in a firefight at its usually secure border with Egypt and announced an “exhaustive and thorough” investigation into the deaths.

Egypt has blamed the fatal clash in the Negev desert on a member of its security forces who was also killed, saying he had crossed the border in pursuit of drug traffickers when he encountered the Israeli troops.

The Israeli army said an Egyptian “assailant” shot dead two soldiers at a post on the border. The discovery of their bodies triggered a manhunt during which the third soldier was killed as well as the suspected attacker.

Three Israel soldiers, Egypt security force member killed in border shooting

Israel’s border area with Egypt has not often been marred by violence since Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel following the Camp David accords of 1978.

As Israel mourned those killed the previous day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it had sent Egypt a “clear message”, speaking at the opening of a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

“We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough,” he said.

“This is part of the important security cooperation between us, which has benefitted both countries over the years.”

Egypt’s army said a member of its security forces had crossed the border “chasing drug traffickers” before he was killed in an “exchange of fire which left three dead on the Israeli side”.

The two Israeli soldiers whose bodies were found early Saturday at a guard post close to the Harif military base were identified as Lia Ben Nun, 19, and Ori Izhak Iluz, 20.

Ohad Dahan, also 20, was killed during the manhunt later on Saturday, the army said.

A fourth Israeli soldier, a non-commissioned officer, was lightly wounded, it added.

Ben Nun was laid to rest on Sunday in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion.

“I love you and miss you already,” her sister Ofir said in her eulogy. “I don’t know what I’ll do now.”

Iluz’s funeral was held in the northern city Safed, and Dahan was being buried in southern town of Ofakim.

Israeli media have raised questions over the shootings, particularly on how the assailant — who has not been identified — managed to cross the high barrier running along the border.

Netanyahu on Saturday promised a “full investigation” into the deaths, and Israeli senior government figures stressed the importance of cooperation with Egypt.

The Israeli army was conducting “a thorough investigation… in collaboration with the Egyptian Armed Forces”, said the military chief of staff Herzi Halevi.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant highlighted “the importance of the ties between the two countries” following a telephone call with his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Zaki.

Zaki meanwhile underlined “the joint coordination to take the necessary measures to avoid the repetition of incidents of this kind in the future”, according to a spokesman for the Egyptian army.

The border between the two countries is generally calm but has been the scene of regular smuggling attempts.

Comments

Comments are closed.

Tulukan Mairandi Jun 05, 2023 09:02am
RIP to the martyrs
thumb_up Recommended (0)