Israeli-Egyptian shelling at Rafah border, Egyptian soldiers killed

International Desk: There has been a shooting incident between the Israeli and Egyptian troops. An Egyptian soldier was killed. The shelling took place near the Rafah crossing in the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza. 

Meanwhile, both countries have announced an investigation into the shooting incident between Israeli and Egyptian troops. Al Jazeera reported this information in a report on Monday (May 27). However, the BBC says that some other details are also available in the case of the dead Egyptian soldiers. 

Egypt's military spokesman said the "appropriate authorities" were investigating the death of a member of the Egyptian security forces in a gunfight near the Rafah border region. Earlier, Israel's military said it was also investigating reports of an exchange of fire between Israeli and Egyptian troops near the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the besieged Gaza Strip.

Egyptian Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez Gharib said on the social media platform X, "The appropriate authorities of the Egyptian Armed Forces are investigating the shooting incident near the Rafah border.

A soldier who was in charge of the area's security was killed in the incident.  Israel this month took control of the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side of the border. The occupying country has also launched a military operation in Rafah, which has drawn sharp criticism from the international community, including Egypt. Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979, and since then Egypt has cooperated on security issues, particularly around the Gaza border.

But tensions between Egypt and Israel have risen since Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing three weeks ago. According to the BBC, an Egyptian soldier was killed in a clash between Egyptian and Israeli troops in the Rafah border area. However, the Egyptian and Israeli military are investigating what actually happened there.  Israeli media said there was an exchange of fire, but few details of the incident were available and there were no reports of Israeli casualties.

Israel has been waging an offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip for nearly eight months and has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians so far. Egypt has always been a strong supporter of the Palestinians and has condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza and Israeli massacres in the war. Notably, Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel 45 years ago.

However, despite the peace agreement, relations between the two countries have often deteriorated. However, fatal incidents between Egyptian and Israeli forces are rare.