BICOM

Israel yesterday temporarily evacuated the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip, due to heavy fighting taking place nearby in the neighbouring Sinai Peninsula between Egyptian forces and ISIS-affiliated terrorists.

Egyptian armed forces, including air support were active in the nearby areas of Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid, and el-Arish, reportedly killing 13 Islamist terrorists. Since the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 2013, the Islamist group Sinai Province, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS, has waged arms against the regime of President al-Sisi, persistently attacking Egyptian military forces in Sinai and inflicting serious casualties.

Due to yesterday’s violence, the IDF said that it had temporarily closed the Kerem Shalom crossing and removed staff there, due to “operational considerations.” Hundreds of trucks pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing each day, delivering food, materials and aid to the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas. Egypt accuses Hamas of actively aiding Sinai Province and has destroyed a large number of smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Sinai in order to stem the flow of weapons between the two terror groups.

Although the regime in Cairo has been the primary target for Sinai Province, the group has also made clear that it is committed to attacking Israel. As recently as July, it was responsible for firing three Grad rockets into Israel. In 2013, two rockets were fired by the group on Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city. Meanwhile, a complex terror attack in 2011 saw four groups of terrorists attack an Israeli civilian bus and several army vehicles near the Egyptian border. Six civilians, two IDF personnel and several Egyptian soldiers were killed. Kerem Shalom itself has been a target for Sinai Province. In 2012, terrorists exploded a truck at Kerem Shalom and crossed the border into Israel before being struck by Israel’s Air Force. Israeli security officials fully expect ISIS affiliates in the Sinai to escalate attacks against Israel in the future.