Suspect said held in slaying of Israeli businessman in Egypt as terror motive denied
Widow of victim identified as produce exporter Ziv Kipper says she understands he was targeted over his Israeli and Jewish identity, but security source says killing was a robbery
Egyptian authorities were said Wednesday to have detained a man on suspicion of killing an Israeli-Canadian businessman residing in the country, amid conflicting reports over possible terror motivations in the attack a day earlier.
An Egyptian security source told Reuters that the case was being investigated as a criminal matter, rejecting any link to the victim’s Jewish background and denying knowledge of an apparent claim of responsibility from an anti-Israel group.
Oksana Kipper confirmed to Israeli media Wednesday that her husband Ziv Kipper was shot dead a day earlier in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria, saying she understood the attack had been motivated by anti-Zionist sentiments and by her husband’s Jewish identity.
“He wasn’t robbed,” the Russian-speaking Kipper told the Kan public broadcaster through a translator, while adding that Egyptian authorities had offered little information.
However, a security source told Reuters the man had been killed “with the motive of robbery.”
According to Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, an alleged perpetrator was identified after an investigative team questioned several people suspected of being involved in the slaying.
The accused shooter, who was being interrogated, was not named in any report.
An Egyptian source was quoted telling the paper that investigators were following “major threads” and speaking to people who did business with Kipper in Alexandria and in the broader Beheira governorate.
The source said more information was expected to be released in the coming hours.
Israeli-Canadian businessman Ziv Kipper was murdered in Alexandria, Egypt this evening by an Egyptian male.
May his memory be a blessing. https://t.co/kYvT5MtVPV pic.twitter.com/zs6dbccsxv
— Shelley G (@ShelleyGldschmt) May 7, 2024
Kipper was the CEO of OK Group LLC, an Egyptian company based in the upscale Alexandria neighborhood of Smouha that specializes in exporting frozen fruits and vegetables. The firm also has offices in Israel and Ukraine.
According to the report, members of Egypt’s national security agencies are involved in the probe, along with criminal investigators.
An unverified statement that circulated online Tuesday from a little-known group named “Vanguards of the Liberation – the Martyrs of Mohamed Salah” had claimed responsibility for the shooting, alleging that Kipper had been gathering intelligence information on behalf of the Mossad and using his job as a cover.
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
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 the Hamas terror group there.
Security sources told Reuters they had no information on the existence of such a group or whether it had been involved in the incident.
Kipper’s identity has not yet been confirmed by Egyptian authorities or Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which said that it is handling the incident along with Israel’s embassy in Cairo.
Kipper’s widow said her late husband would be buried in Israel.
She said she did not intend to remain in Egypt, but was unsure if she would attempt to live in Israel, where she does not have citizenship.
Kipper is the third Israeli to have been killed in Alexandria since October 7.
On October 8, two Israeli tourists were killed when a gunman opened fire on their group in the western Egypt city. A third Israeli was moderately injured in the same attack, and the group’s Egyptian tour guide was killed.
The group that reportedly claimed the attack Tuesday was named for Mohammed Salah Ibrahim, a 22-year-old Egyptian policeman who killed three Israel Defense Forces soldiers in an attack on the Egyptian border in June 2023.
