Three Israeli soldiers killed by Egyptian police officer near border

Two of the soldiers were found dead at a remote guard post early Saturday, officials said, just hours after Israeli forces had thwarted a drug-smuggling attempt in the area, a rugged and unpopulated stretch of the Negev desert. After an extensive search, the suspected gunman was killed in a firefight, along with a third Israeli soldier.

Israel Defense Forces officials said they were investigating the incidents in coordination with the Egyptian military, including reports that the suspected gunman was wearing a uniform that resembled that of an Egyptian police or border guard officer.

All of the events occurred on the Israeli side of the frontier, officials said.

“Our assumption is that this was connected to the drug-smuggling attempt, but we can’t be sure yet,” Lt. Col Richard Hecht said in a briefing with reporters. “It could be [the Islamic State, the terrorist group active in Egypt’s Sinai region], it could be a rogue border guard, it could be a smuggler, we’re still looking into it.”

Hecht said “cooperation with Egypt is good, it’s ongoing. This is not a geopolitical incident.”

The Egyptian Army released a statement Saturday afternoon saying the incident was the result of a hot pursuit of drug smugglers.

“On Saturday early morning on June 3rd, 2023, a member of the security forces that are responsible for securing the international border line chased members of a drug smuggling [chain],” the statement said. “During the chase a member of security forces breached the security checkpoint and exchanged fire which led to the death of 3 members of the Israeli security forces.”

Officials did not release further information on the identity or nationality of the alleged assailant.

The events of what Hecht called “a confusing morning” may have begun between 2 and 3 a.m. when Israeli soldiers foiled a smuggling attempt in which operatives on one side of the border barrier reportedly used ladders to pass contraband to the other. About $401,000 worth of illegal drugs were confiscated, the military said.

Several hours later, after two soldiers stationed at a guard post in the area failed to respond to radio communications, an officer arrived to investigate and found both had been shot, Hecht said. One was male, the other female. It was not clear whether there had been any reports of attacks in the area.

Israeli forces launched a search of the area and tracked a suspected assailant, Hecht said. The man, who was armed with an automatic weapon, opened fire on Israeli troops, killing a male soldier. Israeli forces returned fire, Hecht said, killing the man.

The incidents took place near the Nitzana border crossing, about 25 miles from the converging frontiers of Israel, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Israel’s Egyptian border has been a relatively calm frontier in recent years, although smuggling attempts into Israel are not unusual, officials said.

Sarah Dadouch contributed reporting from Beirut.