IDF believes Egyptian policeman used emergency gate to enter Israel, acted alone

The Israeli military believes the Egyptian policeman who killed three soldiers in southern Israel infiltrated into the country using an emergency gate.

The small gate is used by the Israel Defense Forces to cross the border when necessary, in coordination with the Egyptian army.

The attacker likely entered alone through the gate in the early hours of Saturday morning, following drug smuggling nearby. The Egyptian army claimed the officer sought to chase after suspects involved in the drug smuggling incident.

Soldiers stationed at an army post that was attacked by the officer did not return fire, according to the IDF’s initial investigation.

The pair had last radioed in at around 4:15 a.m., and were found dead by an officer at 9 a.m.

An army drone later identified the attacker some 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the border, which led to clashes in which he and a third soldier were killed.