Egyptian National Arrested After Infiltrating Israel Through Border Fence

The IDF Spokesperson announced Tuesday afternoon that overnight, IDF surveillance personnel identified an Egyptian citizen crossing the border fence from Egypt into Israel in the Nitzana sector. After he was spotted, troops rushed to the scene, arrested him, and transferred him to security forces for further questioning.

“The IDF views the incident with severity and continues to maintain a high state of readiness in defending the sector. The incident is under investigation.”

According to reports, the suspect crossed the border near Nitzana unarmed, carrying a bottle of water. The Shin Bet is investigating suspicions of an attempted attack and possible ties to terrorist organizations in northern Sinai. The IDF’s 80th Division is investigating how he managed to cross the fence despite the heightened security alert.

According to a report, during his initial questioning, the detainee claimed he had come to carry out “jihad” and attempted to seize a weapon from one of the soldiers who arrested him at the border. It also emerged that he had dug beneath the fence to enter Israel.

Separately, IDF forces, the Judea and Samaria Border Police, and the Shin Bet launched an operation overnight in the area of Shechem (Nablus) to thwart terrorist activity. The operation is expected to continue over the coming days.

As part of the operation, forces are expected to demolish monuments honoring terrorists that incite terrorism, arrest wanted individuals involved in weapons and terrorist activity, question suspects, and search buildings where intelligence indicates weapons may be present. Palestinians reported that IDF forces demolished the “martyrs’ monument” in the village of Rujeib, east of Shechem, which bears the names of terrorists.