ISRAELI and Egyptian troops exchanged fire along their shared border today – resulting in the death of at least one Egyptian soldier.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) reported a “shooting incident” along the southern border and said they are investigating.
GettySmoke rises from an Israeli strike on Rafah, southern Gaza[/caption]
AlamyPalestinians inspect the destruction after Israeli air strikes in Rafah last night[/caption]
Fire raged in Rafah last night after an Israeli strike
The IDF said: “A few hours ago, a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border.
“The incident is under review and discussions are being held with the Egyptians.”
The shooting happened close to the Rafah border crossing.
Egyptian authorities have reportedly opened a joint investigation with the IDF to look into the incident.
Israel is claiming that Egyptian forces opened fire first, prompting a reaction, according to Israeli military correspondent Doron Kadosh.
It came hours after Israel blitzed a refugee camp in Rafah last night, killing at least 45 Palestinian civilians including small children.
The Hamas-run health ministry claims 60 more people were injured.
Israel claimed to have killed two high-ranking Hamas commanders in the strikes, which sparked an enormous fire in an area where Palestinians were sheltering.
The IDF said it struck a Hamas compound inside Rafah which was being operated by “significant Hamas terrorists”.
It added: “The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas’ use of the area.”
Yassin Rabia, head of the Hamas West Bank HQ and senior member of the unit Khaled Najjar were apparently taken out.
The Israeli hit landed in Tel Al-Sutan, a part of western Rafah where thousands of people had been sheltering.
They had not been told to evacuate or warned about possible strikes on the area and were living there in tents and shelters.
The airstrike set fire to those tents and shelters, captured in horrifying images from the ground.
Israel said in response: “The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review.”
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