Three injured on Israel-Egypt border during human smuggling operation
IDF soldiers fire shots after group doesn't answer calls to stop; smugglers return fire
Three people were wounded on the Israeli-Egyptian border on Monday morning when the IDF opened fire on a group of smugglers trying to cross into Israel.
The smugglers were leading a group of Africans across the border when they were spotted by soldiers from the Rimon unit, which specializes in combating smuggling on Israel’s southern border. After calling upon the group to stop the soldiers opened fire, and the smugglers fired back.
During the exchange of fire, three people, who apparently were supposed to be smuggled into Israel, were wounded. The three — Channel 10 reported that they were Chinese — were taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba for medical treatment.
According to Army Radio, this was the first exchange of fire between the IDF and smugglers, and it could be suggestive of future incidents as tension around illegal migration to Israel rises.
African migrants and refugees in Israel have been the focus of attention over the past couple of weeks, following a number of violent incidents involving them.
Africans have been charged in a few criminal cases, and residents from the south of Tel Aviv attacked a number of migrants in retaliation, causing Israeli politicians to speak out against racism and Border Police to be deployed in the neighborhoods.