Egyptian hotel worker said killed, Israeli tourists wounded in Sinai brawl

An Egyptian worker was killed Friday in a hotel fight that wounded three Arab Israeli tourists and other workers in the Egyptian seaside town of Taba in the Sinai Peninsula, a medical source told AFP.

The worker succumbed to his injuries “in an ambulance transporting him from Taba” on the border with Israel to Sharm al-Sheikh, 200 kilometres south, the source said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Three Arab Israeli tourists and two Egyptian hotel workers were injured after a fight broke out in the hotel, Egyptian security sources said.

The sources said a physical altercation erupted when one of the Israeli tourists insulted an Egyptian hotel employee, sparking a melee that involved other tourists and employees.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News television channel said one of the Egyptian workers had sustained serious injuries. It also said that several of the tourists had refused to pay for hotel services.

According to the Walla news site, six Israeli citizens were hurt in the incident, sustaining blows to the head and stab wounds. Magen David Adom personnel were waiting at the border crossing to treat them, the report added.

It was not immediately clear whether Israelis had been placed under arrest.

According to the Israel Hayom daily, the incident occurred at the Taba Hilton Hotel.

There have been occasional attacks on Israelis in Egypt since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last year.

זווית נוספת לקטטה האלימה במלון הילטון טאבה, בה נפצעו 5 ישראלים pic.twitter.com/POU91CmWWy

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) August 30, 2024

One day after the war broke out, two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide were shot dead by a policeman in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, marking the first such attack on Israelis in Egypt in decades.

The Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.