The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR) published photos of Israeli reconnaissance aircraft which it said were surveying the Egyptian city of Rafah and the village of Mahdia at the moment an Israeli tank shot at an Egyptian army position – which Tel Aviv reported was accidental.
The SFHR said in a post on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, that the images were obtained from video clips showing a reconnaissance aircraft flying over the village of Mahdia and the vicinity of the Kerem Shalom crossing near the site of the incident.
صور خاصة مثبته من مقاطع فيديو حصلت عليها مؤسسة سيناء تظهر تحليق طيران استطلاع فوق قرية المهدية ومحيط معبر كرم أبو سالم بالقرب من موقع حادث سقوط قذيفة اسرائيلية على موقع عسكري مصري جنوب رفح.
تجري المؤسسة بمساعدة متخصصين تحليل للصور لمعرفة طراز الطائرة.
وكانت المؤسسة قد نقلت… pic.twitter.com/UM1M9Yyrd5
— Sinai for Human Rights (@Sinaifhr) October 22, 2023
The human rights organization said that, with the help of specialists, it is conducting an image analysis to determine the model of the plane.
The SFHR quoted eyewitnesses indicating the heavy presence of reconnaissance aircraft over the villages of Mahdia and the vicinity of Naga Shaybana, south of Rafah, on Sunday evening.
An “accidental” attack
The Israeli army said in a statement on Sunday evening that it had accidentally bombed an Egyptian post near the border at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Israeli Army spokesperson Avichay Adraee reported that a tank accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian position near the border in the Kerem Shalom area.
Adraee said that the incident is under investigation and its details are being examined, and expressed his regret.
The military spokesperson for the Egyptian army confirmed in a Sunday evening statement that some members of an Egyptian border control tower were accidentally injured by shrapnel from an Israeli tank.
“During the ongoing clashes in the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, October 22, one of the Egyptian border watchtowers was accidentally hit by fragments of a shell from an Israeli tank,” he explained.
The spokesperson noted that Israel has expressed regret over the accident immediately after it occurred, stressing that the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.
