Following deadly clashes in the Sinai between the Egyptian government and terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “terrorism is knocking at our borders,” The Times of Israel reported Wednesday.
“Terrorism is knocking at our borders,” the prime minister said during a visit to Hadassah Hospital at Ein Karem, where he met with a female soldier injured when attacked by a Palestinian woman at a checkpoint earlier in the week.
“ISIS is not just opposite the Golan Heights. At the moment it is also in Egypt, opposite Rafah, facing our borders, and we are joined with Egypt and with many other countries in the Middle East and the world in the struggle against the extremist Islamic terrorism that is guided by two elements – Iran and the Shiite extremists, and ISIS and the Sunni extremists — as well as other factions such as Hamas,” he said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State group.
Terrorists from the Sinai Province, the new name of the ISIS affiliate based in in the Sinai Peninsula, launched a series of attacks on Egyptian military checkpoints in the northern Sinai. Between the initial ambushes and the Egyptian army’s retaliation, over 100 people were killed, though according to the Times, there were conflicting reports about the identities of the casualties.
Egyptian medical and security officials said at least 70 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in the attacks and hours of clashes Wednesday, along with dozens of jihadists.
The military said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed. It was not immediately possible to explain the discrepancy.
In response, the Israeli army deployed additional troops and was on high alert along the southern frontier, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon offered condolences to the Egyptian government over the losses suffered in the attacks.
Israel is monitoring the border with UAVs and is guarding against potential attacks, “including infiltration by jihadists and abduction attempts.”
The violence in the Sinai follows the assassination of Egypt’s top prosecutor in a car bombing on Monday.
[Photo: BBC News / YouTube ]