Global Courant
Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said the incident could lead to further warnings from Cairo to Israel.
Shell fragments from an Israeli tank have reached the Egyptian border, wounding at least seven people, including several Egyptian border guards, according to the armies of both countries.
The incident took place late on Sunday, with the Israeli army confirming that it had “accidentally” hit the Egyptian position near the Gaza Strip border.
“The incident is under investigation and details are being investigated. The IDF (Israeli Army) expresses its sorrow over the incident,” the Israeli military said in a statement, without providing further details.
An Egyptian army spokesman confirmed the incident but did not say how many personnel were injured.
The injured were taken to hospital, a witness and a medical source said. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion, followed by the sound of ambulances being deployed from the Egyptian side.
Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera in London, said the incident could prompt further warnings from Cairo.
“This could in fact lead to a further Egyptian warning to Israel that it should relax its indiscriminate and heinous bombing of Gaza, which is definitely out of control,” Bishara said.
The analyst added that there is both public and establishment anger over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, but that Egypt is “handcuffed” by Israel in coordinating humanitarian aid to Gaza with Tel Aviv.
According to Egyptian media, witnesses said the Israeli attack would not disrupt the passage of aid to Gaza.
The accidental blast occurred just hours after a second convoy of aid trucks entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to head towards Gaza.
An initial convoy of 20 trucks had entered the besieged enclave a day earlier, but aid officials warned that supplies of food, water and fuel were still running low.
Israel had prevented aid from entering the crossing while it continued to bomb the Gaza Strip for more than two weeks in response to a Hamas incursion into Israeli territory on October 7.
UN officials say at least 100 trucks a day are needed in Gaza to respond to the crisis.
Before the outbreak of recent events, several hundred trucks arrived there every day.
