Egyptian security arrests 68 Israel-bound African migrants

Egyptian border guards arrested 68 African migrants trying to illegally cross into Israel, an Egyptian security official said.

The official said guards spotted the group close to the barbed wire border in the Sinai Peninsula late Saturday and shot in the air, forcing them to stop and surrender.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to brief the media, said the group of migrants included Sudanese, Ethiopian and Eritrean citizens.

In recent years, Israel has faced a flood of African refugees and migrant workers entering the country illegally via Egypt. It is estimated that there are roughly 70,000 African migrants currently residing in Israel.

The large influx has caused tensions in Israel, particularly in the cities of Eilat and Arad and in the southern neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, where most of the Africans end up.

Last week, a separate group of 56 Africans was captured and detained by Egyptian forces in Sinai. The arrests came after an early July visit to Cairo by prime ministerial envoy Yitzhak Molcho, who stressed the need to strengthen security in Sinai and protect the border from infiltration attempts.