At least nine injured after Israeli tank ‘accidentally’ fires at Egyptian military border post

AT least nine people are believed to have been injured this Sunday, October 22, when an Israeli tank ‘accidentally’ fired at an Egyptian military post.

As confirmed in a tweet by the Israeli Armed Forces: ‘A tank recently fired and hit an Egyptian post near the Kerem Shalom border area. The Israel Defence Forces want to express their regret over what happened’.

The IDF went on to say that the incident in the border region was being ‘investigated, Kerem Shalom is located at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.

According to the Egyptian independent media network Rassd News, the target that was hit would have been a border surveillance tower located south of the Palestinian city of Rafah. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located around 30 km southwest of Gaza City.

Colonel Gharib Abdelhafez Gharib, an Egyptian army spokesperson announced on Sunday evening that there were ‘minor injuries to members of the border guard tower as a result of fragments of an Israeli shell that was accidentally fired’, noting that the Israeli side ‘regrets the unintentional incident’, said the news outlet.

He explained: ‘During the ongoing clashes in the Gaza Strip today, Sunday, one of the Egyptian border watchtowers was accidentally hit by fragments of a shell from an Israeli tank. The incident resulted in minor injuries to some border control personnel’.

Border clashes have slowed the movement of aid to Gaza

The expected delivery of humanitarian aid from Egypt to the Gaza Strip this Sunday has reportedly been hindered by armed clashes between Palestinian militiamen and the Israeli Army in the border area between Israel and southeastern Gaza.

Some 17 lorries loaded with humanitarian aid – including food, water and medicine – were scheduled to access the enclave for the second day in a row this Sunday.

However, due to clashes between the Al Qasam Brigades – the armed wing of Hamas – and Israeli troops in the fence area, they had to change their route.

The Hamas militias assured via its Telegram channel that their members had ambushed an Israeli armoured force in the Khan Yunis Governorate area located between Israel and the southeast of the Strip.

Israeli troops allegedly crossed the fence several metres into the Strip and exchanged fire with Palestinian militiamen, who even attacked an Israeli tank, according to Al Qasam.

In a statement, the Israeli Army reported that Palestinian militants had fired at soldiers ‘operating west of the Gaza Strip security fence’. They added that: ‘a tank attacked the terrorist cell that fired at the military’.

Several Israeli soldiers were reportedly injured in the clashes, although official confirmation from the Army has not yet been given, according to Israeli media.

Hospitals in Gaza lack fuel to run their generators

Today’s clashes increased at the same time as almost 20 lorries entered Gaza from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The region has been devastated by the total siege imposed by Israel and the incessant bombings, which has led to a serious humanitarian crisis.

On Saturday, 20 lorries transporting supplies entered Gaza after strong pressure from the international community on Israel to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered after an agreement was reached with the United States.

However, the entry of fuel is not being allowed, which has reportedly left hospitals in Gaza without electricity, meaning they cannot operate the generators, as reported by 20minutos.es.