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On Sunday, following the death of three Israeli soldiers on Israel’s border with Egypt, Israeli authorities are scrutinizing a series of errors and mishaps that led to a “lone suspect” entering Israel undetected, spending several hours inside the country, and killing three soldiers at two different locations before being shot and killed. The suspect, identified by the Israeli and Egyptian authorities as an Egyptian security force member, slipped across the heavily fortified boundary, through an emergency gate held shut by plastic cuffs. The suspect’s identity and motivation are still unknown, however, a Quran was found in his bag, signaling a potential Islamist tie.
While Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty over 40 years ago, Israeli troops guarding the border are used to dealing with drug-smuggling gangs, not armed militants. The attack that occurred on Saturday was the first of its kind along the Egyptian border in over a decade. Analysts are now raising significant, difficult questions about the apparent missteps and subsequent casualties at the border.
Many are questioning why the Israeli troops did not detect the gate’s breach or why the sensors along the border did not detect the intruder. Furthermore, how the suspect was able to reach the army position and surprise the soldiers without being seen by lookouts remains unclear. Israeli officials continue to investigate the matter.
According to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the last contact with the two Israeli soldiers occurred at 4:15 am, and radio contact was supposed to be made on an hourly basis. Admiral Hagari admits this did not happen. Only after a commander reached the position around 9 am and discovered the two soldiers deceased, was the alarm issued that an assailant was on the loose.
The pursuit of the suspect was aided by a drone that initially spotted the intruder. The drone images did not clearly show a weapon; therefore, troops needed to get closer to determine if the suspect was an Israeli civilian who might have been hiking in the area. The suspect opened fire from about 200 yards, killing a third Israeli soldier and wounding a fourth before being killed.
Yossi Yehoshua, a military affairs commentator, wrote on Sunday in the Hebrew newspaper Yediot Ahronot, “The Israeli defenses collapsed yesterday,” given that the Israeli military “enjoyed real superiority in terms of manpower, daylight visibility conditions and auxiliary troops.” Other analysts questioned whether troops stationed along the border could remain alert during 12-hour shifts in the desert’s extreme heat.
The Egyptian Army offered a different account of the attack, saying it happened during a dawn shoot-out with smugglers in which an Egyptian officer had also been killed. The Israeli military rejects this version of events and questions the lengthy period of several hours between an early morning cross-border drug-smuggling attempt and the actual attack.
Although many Egyptians are unhappy with the peace treaty with Israel, Israeli and Egyptian authorities have collaborated along their border in recent years, particularly since the Islamic State (ISIS) has affiliated itself in Egypt’s vast deserts of the Sinai Peninsula.
