Fence separating the Israeli and Egyptian border in Eilat Attacks by unknown assailants on Egyptian border guard in the turmoil-hit Sinai left at least 16 dead and seven injured on Sunday, with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian authorities responding fast to the incident.
According to media reports on Sunday evening, the attack involved a military vehicle, reportedly hijacked earlier, which exploded around 7pm. Others were injured after the attackers opened fire on them.
Investigations by authorities into the attack have been immediately opened as no group has claimed responsibility yet.
However, the Egyptian state TV claimed that elements of Islamic extremist groups situated in the Sinai peninsula had carried out the attack by iftar (the hour when people have their meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan), but provided no details.
An anonymous Egyptian security official was quoted by Egypt\'s state-run news agency, MENA, as saying that Islamist elements who infiltrated Egypt from the Gaza Strip through tunnels are behind the attacks, along with other Islamists situated in the areas of El-Halal Mountain and El-Mahdia in eastern Sinai.
For their side, however, Gaza strip rulers Hamas stressed it has not been involved in the attacks, saying it would never infiltrate Egypt’s borders nor use its weapons against its army in the wake of a deadly attack that left 15 Egyptian soldiers dead on Sunday.
“Hamas has nothing to do with the border tensions. On the contrary, it cares about the Egyptian national security and would never use weapons against the Egyptian army,” the faction’s senior leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar told Ahram Online.
Back in Cairo, according to Egypt\'s health ministry, at least 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and seven injured in the explosion that went off at a military zone on Sunday, near the city of Rafah, according to Al-Ahram Arabic-language news portal.
Later on, Egyptian state TV reported the death toll has risen to 16.
The injured were rushed to the Arish General Hospital.                
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has held an emergency meeting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the chief of intelligence, and the interior minister to discuss the deadly attacks.
Egypt\'s presidential office stated that those responsible for the attacks on Egyptian border guard in Sinai will be punished for their actions as their crime will not be tolerated.
\"The security apparatuses are working in full power to reveal the identities of the culprits of the attacks executed in Rafah soon,\" presidential office spokesman Yasser Ali told Egyptian state TV.
Another vehicle destroyed by Israeli forces
Meanwhile, Ofir Gendelman, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declared on Twitter that the Israeli Army had reported that no Israelis had been killed in the attack.
Gendelman also said that Israeli troops had been \"combing\" the nearby Kerem Abu Salam border area looking for \"terrorists\" whom he said had entered the self-proclaimed Jewish state from Egypt.
The Netanyahu spokesperson added that, apart from a military vehicle that had exploded and killed several Egyptian soldiers, a second vehicle, which he claimed had been \"hijacked,\" had been destroyed by the Israeli air force.
\"One of the military vehicles exploded at the Kerem Shalom [Kerem Abu Salam] crossing. The second vehicle was targeted by the IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] from the air,\" he tweeted in English.
He added in Arabic: \"Apparently the \'terrorists\' who penetrated the borders with two vehicles had planned for a very big terrorist operation on our territory. This attempt has been aborted.\"
Following the attacks, Israeli occupation forces declared their intention to close the Karam Abu Salem border crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
Israeli daily Maariv said the attacks followed a statement issued by Israel\'s Counter-Terrorism Bureau on Thursday warning Israeli citizens of an imminent attack.
Egypt\'s presidential office stated that those responsible for the attacks on Egyptian border guard in Sinai will be punished for their actions as their crime will not be tolerated.
The office also offered condolences to the families of the Egyptian troopers who were killed, and wished the injured a quick recovery.
According to the Egyptian state TV, the death toll has rising to 16, the injured are seven.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has already met with members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to discuss the situation.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday night praised IDF soldiers in the South and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for thwarting the attempted terror attack at the Kerem Shalom crossing on the border with Egypt.
Barak stated that the attack could have potentially caused multiple casualties.
\"The terror operatives\' actions put renewed emphasis on the need for persistent Egyptian action to bring security and prevent terror in Sinai,\" Barak stated.