Policeman Killed in Terrorist Attack in Sinai

Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)
Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)
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Policeman Killed in Terrorist Attack in Sinai

Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)
Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)

One Egyptian policeman was killed in a terrorist attack in al-Arish, North Sinai, according to tribal and medical eyewitnesses.

Sinai Tribal Union, a gathering of tribesmen who cooperate with the Egyptian authorities during security operations, announced that a security officer at Bir al-Abed Police Department, northeast of Sinai, survived an assassination attempt.

The incident happened when a group of masked gunmen opened fire at the officer's car, killing his driver immediately.

The Union issued a statement announcing the death of officer Ahmed Abdusalam, who was killed by extremists during the attack.

Mervat Saleh, a Bir Al-Abed resident who witnessed the incident, reported that she heard gunshots in front of her building, and after things calmed down, residents found out that someone attacked the sheriff’s car.

She added that the perpetrators were armed, masked, and targeted the car with heavy fire while it was parked in front of a pharmacy. However, the sheriff was inside the pharmacy and they shot his driver instead.

Saleh said that an ambulance rushed to the scene followed by policemen who immediately began combing the region looking for the attackers.

The witness also reported that the gunmen tried to drive the car away and kidnap the passenger, but the sheriff had the keys, so they hijacked the vehicle of a passerby and fled the scene.

The car was later found on al-Arish-Qantara highway, on the city’s eastern entrance.

Under-Secretary of Health Ministry Tarek Shawki told Asharq al-Awsat that Bir al-Abed Hospital received the body of Ahmed Abdusalam, 21, who sustained several gunshots.

Egyptian police pursue in North Sinai terrorist elements of “Wilayat Sinai” organization, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014.

In 2018, the army, accompanied by the police, launched an operation against the militants in North and Central Sinai to cleanse the region from extremists affiliated with ISIS.

Terrorist attacks against security forces have dropped significantly in Sinai over the last period due to the army’s preemptive strikes on terrorist locations, according to observers.



At Least 34 People Killed in Israeli Strikes in Gaza

Palestinians carry the bodies of people killed during overnight Israeli strikes, at Al-Shifa hospital in the central Gaza Strip on June 28, 2025. (by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinians carry the bodies of people killed during overnight Israeli strikes, at Al-Shifa hospital in the central Gaza Strip on June 28, 2025. (by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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At Least 34 People Killed in Israeli Strikes in Gaza

Palestinians carry the bodies of people killed during overnight Israeli strikes, at Al-Shifa hospital in the central Gaza Strip on June 28, 2025. (by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinians carry the bodies of people killed during overnight Israeli strikes, at Al-Shifa hospital in the central Gaza Strip on June 28, 2025. (by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least 34 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes, health staff say, as Palestinians face a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and ceasefire prospects inch closer.

The strikes began late Friday and continued into Saturday morning, among others killing 12 people at the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa hospital where the bodies were brought. Six others were killed in southern Gaza when a strike hit their tent in Muwasi, according to the hospital, The Associated Press reported.

The strikes come as US President Donald Trump says there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office Friday, the president said, “we’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.”

An official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, will arrive in Washington next week for talks on Gaza's ceasefire, Iran and other subjects. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Talks have been on again off again since Israel broke the latest ceasefire in March, continuing its military campaign in Gaza and furthering the Strip's dire humanitarian crisis. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, fewer than half of them believed to still be alive. They were part of some 250 hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking the 21-month-long war.

The war has killed over 56,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It says more than half of the dead were women and children.

There is hope among hostage families that Trump’s involvement in securing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran might exert more pressure for a deal in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is riding a wave of public support for the Iran war and its achievements, and he could feel he has more space to move toward ending the war in Gaza, something his far-right governing partners oppose.

Hamas has repeatedly said it is prepared to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war in Gaza. Netanyahu says he will only end the war once Hamas is disarmed and exiled, something the group has rejected.

Meanwhile hungry Palestinians are enduring a catastrophic situation in Gaza. After blocking all food for 2 1/2 months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May.

Efforts by the United Nations to distribute the food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys.

Palestinians have also been shot and wounded while on their way to get food at newly formed aid sites, run by the American and Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Gaza's health officials and witnesses.

Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have opened fire at crowds on the roads heading toward the sites. Israel’s military said it was investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while approaching the sites.