UPDATE 2 – Egypt says soldier killed in Rafah border shooting, investigating incident

UPDATES WITH DETAILS

By Abdelraouf Arnaout and Ahmed Asmar

CAIRO (AA) – The Egyptian army said Monday that a soldier was killed in a shooting near the border with the Gaza Strip, saying it is investigating the incident.

“The Egyptian Armed Forces are conducting an investigation by the competent authorities regarding the shooting incident in the border area in Rafah, which led to the martyrdom of one of the personnel in charge of security,” a military spokesman said in a statement.

The spokesman, however, did not point the finger at any party for the shooting.

The Israeli army said early Monday that an exchange of fire had occurred with Egyptian forces at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

“A few hours ago, there was a shooting incident on the Egyptian border, the (incident) is under investigation. Dialogue is taking place with the Egyptian side,” the army said in a statement.

No injuries were reported among Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli Channel 12, for its part, described the shooting incident as “unusual.”

Israeli Army Radio said Israel and Egypt launched a joint investigation into the shooting incident to prevent any deterioration in their ties.

According to the broadcaster, Israeli security officials spoke to their Egyptian counterparts following the shooting incident.

There was no comment from Egyptian authorities about the joint investigation at the time of publishing the story.