On Monday, Israeli authorities handed over the body of the Egyptian soldier who opened fire on Israeli troops, killing three of them on Saturday at the Egyptian-Israeli borders.
Israel’s Channel 12 stated that the Israeli military returned the body of the Egyptian soldier to Egypt as part of the two countries’ joint management of the incident.
The channel added that the move stemmed from Israel’s desire to maintain trust with Egypt, despite the tragic outcomes of the attack. Additionally, there was no security reason for Israel to retain the body.
According to Israeli media outlets, the Egyptian border guard was identified as Mohammad Salah Ibrahim, 23.
Following the shooting attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel passed a clear message to the Egyptian government: We expect the joint investigation to be comprehensive and thorough. This is part of the important security cooperation between us that has benefited both countries for years. We will derive the necessary conclusions regarding our activity at the Southern border.”
On the other hand, the Spokesman of the Egyptian Armed Forces Gharib Abdel-Hafez extended Egypt’s Minister of Defence’s condolences over the victims in the incident from both sides, and the two ministers also discussed joint coordination to take necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
Earlier on Saturday, Gharib issued a statement saying Egyptian border security personnel and three Israeli border security personnel were killed and two others injured, amid an exchange of fire as the Egyptian personnel chased drug smugglers across the border in the early hours of Saturday morning.
In his statement, Gharib noted that all procedures to search and secure the area were ongoing and legal procedures regarding the incident were being taken.
