Little is known, but much is at stake in the killing of a Bedouin man in the far West Sinai on Sunday night.
A CNN report names the victim as Ibrahim Owida Nasser Madan, quoting his uncle: “Ibrahim was struck by a rocket and killed not too far away from me.”
The CNN report suggests that it could have been a drone strike from the Israeli army, but offered no concrete evidence. The Israeli Defense Force’s news desk told the Daily News Egypt that it does not give out information to foreign news agencies and the Egyptian authorities have not released any statements yet.
AFP released photos of people in the Sinai near shards of a rocket and a large crater in the sand. They also reported that some in the area said the victim was firing a rocket into Israel. Rockets had been fired from Egypt to Israel earlier in the month.
If there were indeed Egyptians firing rockets into Israel, it would further undermine a new Egyptian administration that came to power amid doubts over its ability to control the security situation. At the same time, a drone attack from Israel would escalate the already tense relationship.
Newly appointed Defense Minister General Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi headed to the Sinai on Monday as part of the ongoing Operation Eagle, reported state news outlet Al-Ahram. The operation has aimed to find those responsible for the cross border attack on 5 August. The accused are supposed to be identified in the near future.
