Shells launched from an Israeli tank “accidentally” struck Egypt’s border with the Gaza strip late Sunday, wounding at least seven individuals, including a number of Egyptian border guards, reported Al Jazeera yesterday.
Witnesses on the ground reported hearing a bomb followed by the sounds of ambulances being deployed on the Egyptian side of the border. The injured were carried to hospital.
“The incident is under investigation, and the details are being reviewed,” stated the Israeli military in a statement offering no specifics. “The Tsahal [Israeli army] expresses regret over the incident.”
The Egyptian military confirmed the military incursion, but did not specify how many of its soldiers were injured.
The explosion occurred just hours after a second convoy of relief trucks crossed from Egypt via the Rafah border crossing (the only means of ingress and egress on the Egyptian border) into Gaza.
A convoy of 20 trucks had reached the besieged enclave on Saturday after finally being permitted to enter the tiny strip, but humanitarian authorities are warning that food, water, and fuel supplies are still running short.
Israel has barred all supplies of food and water or humanitarian aid from entering the border while continuing to pound the Gaza Strip for more than two weeks in retaliation for Hamas’s attack on Israeli territory and civilians on October 7.
According to UN authorities, at least 100 vehicles per day are needed in Gaza to respond to the dire situation.
According to Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst in London Marwan Bishara, the stray shelling into Egypt may negatively affect Israel’s ties with Egypt.
He said while there is public and institutional outrage over Israel’s shelling of Gaza, Egypt is “handcuffed” by Israel in having to coordinate entry of humanitarian relief into Gaza with Tel Aviv.