Two Israeli tourists and one Egyptian were slain by an Egyptian police officer on Sunday, according to local media and Israeli officials, as the neighbouring country’s battle with Hamas entered its second day.
According to a security source, the policeman used “his personal weapon” to shoot “at random” at an Israeli tour group visiting Alexandria.
A fourth individual was injured, and the officer was “immediately arrested,” according to the report.
In a statement, Israel’s foreign ministry acknowledged the killings.
“This morning during a visit of Israeli tourists in Alexandria, Egypt, a local opened fire at them, murdering two Israeli citizens and their Egyptian guide,” according to the report.
“In addition, there is a wounded Israeli in moderate condition.”
The deaths come as fighting rages after Palestinian militants on Saturday launched a multi-pronged attack on Israel, which has declared war on Hamas and launched air strikes on Gaza.
Egypt was the first Arab country to forge a peace deal with Israel in 1979, and has long served as a key intermediary between Israel and the Palestinians.
However, despite the diplomatic relations, Israel remains largely unpopular among Egyptians.
In June, three Israeli soldiers were killed in a firefight at the border with Egypt by a member of the Egyptian security forces who crossed the border “in pursuit of drug traffickers”, according to the Egyptian army.
On Saturday, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned of a “vicious cycle of tensions threatening regional stability and security”.
