Egypt inquires Israel in the killing of three of its soldiers

The Egyptian foreign ministry addressed an urgent message to Israel demanding an official explanation over the killing of three soldiers on the Egyptian territories by the fire of the Israeli tank positioned in southern Gaza.

News reports in Egypt said that the Egyptian side stressed that the Israeli tank fired the shelling at a distance of 20 meters at a group which was on the border and wearing the military uniform.

The reports said that this incident is not the first of its kind in which security agreements are violated between the two sides. There are demolishing operations for houses carried out by Israel at the Egyptian side under the pretext of security, in addition to violations in the number of forces deployed in the region.

The Israeli officials tried to justify the killing of members of the Egyptian army. The official spokesman for the army Eitan Arousi said that the fire of the tank has mistaken a Palestinian cell which was preparing an operation against the Israeli army.

Arousi expressed in a statement to the al-Jazeera TV his regret over the killing of the three Egyptian soldiers, noting that an investigation was opened into the incident.

The Israeli army radio said that the army opened its fire against "suspicious ghosts" for three persons along the borders in a position alleged it is for the Palestinians they use to smuggle weapons from Egypt.

The Israeli deputy defense minister Zaef Bweim described the incident as "a painful incident that ended in horrible results," stressing that "it should be made sure not to repeat what had happened."