Egyptian, Israeli defense ministers discuss circumstances of border incident

CAIRO – 3 June 2023: Egypt’s Minister of Defense Mohamed Zaki and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, discussed the circumstances of the gunfire incident that took place on the two countries' border earlier on Saturday.

Zaki and Gallant made a phone call to extend condolences over the victims of both sides, the Egyptian military spokesperson said in a statement.

The phone call also came to ensure joint coordination in order to take the required measures in order to prevent such incidents from taking place in the future, the spokesman added.

Three Israeli security personnel and an Egyptian security member were killed during a pursuit of drug smugglers on the border early on Saturday, the Egyptian army spokesman said in a statement.

One member of the security forces tasked with securing the international border line breached the security barrier and exchanged fire as he was pursuing drug smugglers, the spokesman said.

During the fire exchange, three of the Israeli security forces were killed and two others were injured, the spokesman said, adding that the Egyptian security member was also killed.

"Search, inspection and security measures are being taken in the zone," the spokesman said, affirming that legal measures are also being taken with regard to the incident.

The spokesperson extended condolences to the deaths and wished the injured a speedy recovery.