The Israeli army began investigations with the Egyptian side after Tel Aviv announced the death of 3 of its soldiers. The Israeli army said that "the terrorist who carried out the attack on the border is an Egyptian policeman," and pointed out that its soldiers are conducting combing operations in the area to ensure that there are no "other terrorists" The Egyptian side linked the incident to a shooting that occurred while chasing drug smugglers across the border on Saturday.
The clash took place at dawn on Saturday and lasted for hours at the Al-Awja border crossing.