The IDF has apologized to its neighbor after a border watchtower came under fire
Israeli Merkava battle tank units regroup near the Gaza Strip border earlier this month. © Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Egyptian border guards have been injured by fragments from an Israeli tank round that struck one of their watchtowers amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas.
The incident occurred on Sunday at the Egyptian border station near Kerem Shalom, where the borders of Israel, the Gaza Strip and Egypt come together. Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman Colonel Gharib Abdel-Hafez Gharib described the injuries as “minor” and didn’t disclose how many border guards were wounded by the shell fragments.
“The Israeli side expressed its regret over the unintentional incident immediately,” Gharib said in a statement. “It occurred, and the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement earlier on Sunday, expressing “sorrow regarding the incident.” The tank “accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post” in the border area, and the incident is under investigation, according to the statement.
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The mishap occurred the day after Egypt opened its border crossing with Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to be transported to the besieged Palestinians. Just 20 of the approximately 200 aid trucks that had been waiting for days to get into Gaza were reportedly allowed to enter the territory on Saturday. A second convoy, consisting of 14 trucks, passed through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza on Sunday.
The IDF continued to carry out airstrikes against Hamas targets in Gaza in preparation for a planned ground offensive in response to the Islamist group’s surprise attacks against Israel earlier this month. Over 4,700 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have been killed since the conflict began on October 7.
