Hebrew media confirms Egyptian story: Israeli officer hit by smugglers' vehicle

An Israeli officer was slightly injured on Monday after being run over by a vehicle belonging to drug smugglers on the Israeli-Egyptian border, according to Hebrew media, which in turn confirmed what Egyptian media reported about an exchange of gunfire between an Israeli border guard force and a group of smugglers in the Negev desert.

The Hebrew newspaper "Israel Hayom" said: "An officer was slightly injured after being run over by a Razor ATV on the Israeli-Egyptian border, while Israeli army forces were trying to stop drug smugglers at the scene of the accident this evening."

"The Israeli soldiers opened fire on the quad bike that sped towards them and its driver fled the scene," she added. "IDF soldiers are searching for the suspects who fled the area."

For its part, the Israeli army said in a brief statement on Monday evening: "A short time ago, during operational activity in the Egyptian border area, an Israeli army force spotted a vehicle speeding towards it," explaining that the suspects are being pursued and the area is being combed, without further details.

Until 21:00 (GMT), the Egyptian authorities have not issued a comment on the incident, but the private Cairo News Channel quoted an unnamed "high-level" Egyptian source denying the veracity of what was reported by Hebrew media outlets regarding a shooting incident on the Egyptian-Israeli border.

According to the Egyptian source, "what happened was an exchange of fire between an Israeli border guard force and a group of smugglers in the Negev desert."

At intermittent intervals, the Egyptian-Israeli border witnesses incidents of "clashes with drug smugglers," the most prominent of which was the Egyptian army's announcement last January of the killing of one person and the arrest of six others after "thwarting a drug smuggling operation" south of the "Auja" crossing on the border with Israel.