Rafah border crossing
© AFPA man sits near the gate to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the south of the Gaza Strip on November 3, 2023.
Israeli media reported on 27 May that Israeli forces killed at least one Egyptian soldier in an exchange of fire at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza.

Channel 14 reported that Egyptian security forces "fired on an Israeli truck at the Rafah crossing" and indicated that Israeli army soldiers "responded to this with gunfire."

Maariv reported one Egyptian soldier was killed in the exchange before contact was made with the Egyptians to cease fire.

Israeli sources told the Hebrew newspaper that what happened "is a violation of the peace agreement with Egypt."

The two countries signed a peace agreement in 1979 and have coordinated closely to control the Gaza-Egypt border.

Israel's Channel 7 confirmed that there were no casualties on the part of Israeli forces during the clash.

The i24 News website reported that several other Egyptian soldiers may have been injured.

The Egyptian military spokesman confirmed the death of one Egyptian soldier. The spokesman said: "The Egyptian Armed Forces are conducting an investigation by the competent authorities into the shooting incident in the Rafah border area, which led to the martyrdom of one of the personnel in charge of security."

Relations between Egypt and Israel have worsened since the start of the war on 7 October. Israeli leaders have expressed their desire to forcibly expel Gaza's 2.3 million people to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned the plans.

On 6 May, Israeli troops occupied the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, effectively blocking the entry of humanitarian aid as part of the broader Israeli ground campaign in Rafah. The flow of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, who face starvation and famine in addition to Israeli bombardment, has slowed to a trickle as a result.

In February, Egypt deployed 40 tanks to the Gaza border in anticipation of an Israeli assault on Rafah and possible mass displacement of Palestinians from the border city.