Israeli army kills three Egyptians in border incident

November 18, 2004 GAZA - The Israeli Army is believed to have killed three Egyptian soldiers in a border incident. The shootings occurred near the Philadelphi Route on the Gaza-Egypt border. Both nations patrol the area intensively for arms smuggling into Gaza.

An Israeli tank apparently mistook Egyptian troops for smugglers.

Foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev has apologized for the incident, saying: "If Egyptians were hit then we regret it. This was not our intention. We want good co-operative relations with Egypt ... and if Egyptians were hurt then our thoughts go out to them and their families and the Egyptian people."

Israel has said it is investigating the shootings "at the most senior level." Egypt has said little so far.