Jewish businessman shot dead in Egypt in suspected terror attack
Unverified statement from a group calling itself ‘Vanguards of the Liberation – the Martyrs of Mohamed Salah’ claims responsibility for the killing
A Jewish businessman was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria on Tuesday in what reports described as a suspected terror incident.
The man’s identity was not immediately confirmed by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which said that it is handling the incident along with Israel’s embassy in Cairo. Egyptian police also confirmed that they were investigating the circumstances of the murder.
Unconfirmed reports in Arabic-language media identified the man as Ziv Kipper, the CEO of OK Group LLC, an Egyptian company that specializes in exporting frozen fruits and vegetables.
The company’s head office is located in Alexandria, and it has additional offices in Israel and Ukraine.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that the man also also held Canadian citizenship, and owned a business in Egypt.
While the perpetrators of the attack were not immediately identified, an unverified statement from a newly formed group named “Vanguards of the Liberation – the Martyrs of Mohamed Salah” claimed responsibility for the shooting.
A group calling itself "Vanguards of Liberation – Martyr Mohammed Salah Groups" claims it murdered an Israeli "agent" in Egypt today.
Mohammed Saleh was an Egyptian police officer who murdered three IDF soldiers near the Israel-Egypt border in June 2023. pic.twitter.com/K7ucUbrLlo— Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) May 7, 2024
The statement claimed that Kipper had been gathering intelligence information on behalf of the Mossad and had been using his job as a cover.
Kipper’s death was “a step on the path of the Egyptian people’s struggle against the Zionist enemy,” the statement said, adding that he was killed in support of the people of Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas.
The group’s namesake Mohammed Salah Ibrahim was a 22-year-old Egyptian policeman who killed three Israel Defense Forces soldiers in an attack on the Egyptian border in June 2023.
Tuesday’s suspected terror incident is the second of its kind in Egypt following the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
On October 8, 2023, two Israeli tourists were killed when a gunman opened fire on their group in Alexandria. A third Israeli was moderately injured in the same attack, and the group’s Egyptian tour guide was killed.
