Egypt lodged a formal protest to Israel on Friday over the deaths of five military and security personnel near the Egypt-Israel border after eight Israelis were killed, and demanded an investigation into the deaths, an Egyptian army official said.
Egyptians are enraged over the killings the Egyptian side of the border while Israeli forces pursued suspected militants who had launched multiple attacks on targets in southern Israel on Thursday.
"Egypt has filed an official protest to Israel over the incidents at the border [Thursday] and demands an urgent investigation over the reasons and circumstances surrounding the death of three of Egypt's forces," an Egyptian army official told Reuters, before the number rose to five on Friday.
The circumstances surrounding the Egyptians's deaths were not immediately clear, but the Egyptian military said the five died during an Israeli raid on fleeing militants along the border.
Israel said the militants had come through the Hamas-run Gaza Strip from Sinai, where the Egyptian army, backed by Central Security Forces, have been conducting a week-long security operation to root out some 1200 to 1300 militants believed to be operating in North Sinai.
