The Israeli Navy has sent two more warships to the Egypt border in the Red Sea, saying that southern Israel could be attacked from Egyptian soil, a claim denied by Cairo.
“Two naval craft have been sent to the Red Sea,†AP quoted an Israeli military official as saying on Tuesday. Earlier on Monday, Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Benny Gantz authorized bolstering deployment across the entire southern territories, specifically areas close to the Israeli-Egyptian border.
Meanwhile, areas next to the border have in recent weeks become the scene of increased military build-up described by some security observers as “unprecedented,†after several Israelis were killed in an attack on a number of vehicler near the Egypt border on Aug. 18.
Following the attacks, Israeli officials had claimed that Egypt’s grip on Sinai was weakening. Meanwhile, Egypt’s South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda denied reports that the attackers had opened fire on Israeli vehicles from Sinai.
“The South Sinai governor denied there was any gunfire from Taba towards Eilat port,” state television said in reference to the Egyptian Red Sea resort across the border from Eilat.
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