Gunfire between Egyptian and IDF soldiers reported at Rafah border crossing

27 May 2024 , 12:19

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Tent encampments housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah, now under siege from Israeli forces (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Egyptian border guards have opened fire on Israeli soldiers in Rafah, reports have suggested.

Arabic language media company Al Arabiya has reported, via their correspondent in Jerusalem, that Egyptian border guards opened fire on Israeli soldiers in Rafah. Further reports suggest that there was an exchange of gunfire, with some injuries being sustained.

"An unusual incident between the Israeli and Egyptian armies" took place at the Rafah crossing, Israeli Channel 13 reports. Israel has reportedly launched an internal investigation into the incident.

This comes as Israeli bombs have rained down on the city of Rafah in Gaza where tens of thousands of refugees have fled fleeing violence in other parts of the beleaguered strip. Palestinian health workers said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 people Sunday and hit tents for displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and “numerous” others were trapped in flaming debris. Gaza’s Health Ministry said women and children made up most of the dead and dozens of wounded.

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Footage filmed by one of the volunteers of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) shows footage of fire raging after an Israeli strike hit the tents of displaced Palestinians northwest of Rafah late on May 26 (PRCS/AFP via Getty Images)

The attacks came two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population had sought shelter before Israel’s incursion earlier this month. Tens of thousands of people remain in the area while many others have fled.

Footage from the scene of the largest airstrike showed heavy destruction. Israel’s army confirmed the strike and said it hit a Hamas installation and killed two senior Hamas militants. It said it was investigating reports that civilians were harmed. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was in Rafah on Sunday and was briefed on the “deepening of operations” there, his office said.

Smoke rises over the Southern Gaza Strip (Getty Images)

A spokesperson with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the death toll was likely to rise as search and rescue efforts continued in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighborhood about two kilometers (1.2 miles) northwest of the city center.

The society asserted that the location had been designated by Israel as a “humanitarian area.” The neighborhood is not included in areas that Israel’s military ordered evacuated earlier this month.

The airstrike was reported hours after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel’s massive air, sea and ground offensive.

Palestinians stand amid the remains of tents destroyed by Israeli attacks (Anadolu via Getty Images)

There were no reports of casualties in what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January. Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility. Israel’s military said eight projectiles crossed into Israel after being launched from Rafah and “a number” were intercepted, and the launcher was destroyed.

Earlier Sunday, dozens of aid trucks entered Gaza from southern Israel under a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt after Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of it earlier this month. Israel’s military said 126 aid trucks entered via the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing.

Charlie Jones