Residents of Israeli communities along the border with Egypt were notified that the Egyptian army will conduct live-fire exercises in the upcoming days as close as about 100 meters from the Israeli border fence, with approval from the IDF, according to local officials and residents.
The military said the drills are scheduled to begin on Sunday, April 26 and continue for four days through April 30, taking place daily between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. The notification was relayed to residents via local security coordinators. The exercises are expected to occur in nearby Israeli communities, prompting concern among some residents who say the proximity and timing raise security fears, similar to the lead-up to the October 7 attack.
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A message recieved by an Egyptian border town resident informing that live-fire exercise will be conducted near the border
“The sequence of events is eerily reminiscent of what preceded the October 7 disaster,” said to ynet a resident of Bnei Netzarim, a town located along the border. She said residents were informed the drills could take place throughout the day without a specific time frame.
“How, after everything we’ve been through, does the IDF approve a foreign army operating with live fire right on the contact line?” she said. “Gunfire noise is the perfect cover for smuggling or even a raid. Why allow them to get so close? They have vast areas in (the) Sinai (Peninsula).”
The resident added that recently, individuals and vehicles had approached the border area multiple times. “Just a month ago, white pickup trucks arrived several times at the border, parked near the town and the nearby base and observed without interference,” she said, describing what she believes were intelligence-gathering activities.
She also described an incident in which a man with a camel stood for hours opposite an IDF base. “We were told he was in an area where he is allowed to be, but it was clear to any reasonable person that this was surveillance,” she said, adding that weapons smuggling in the area is “a daily occurrence.”
Residents warn that “patterns seen on the Gaza border (before the October 7 attack) are repeating here,” arguing that repeated approaches to the fence test Israeli vigilance. “Now they are being allowed to fire near our homes. Normalizing an armed presence on the fence is a failure,” she said.
The Forum for Israel’s Border Communities said in a statement that it was unacceptable to allow Egyptian forces to train so close to the border. The group linked the drills to what it described as similar patterns before the October 7 attack.
“We warn against the creation of dangerous norms that led to October 7,” the group said, calling on political leaders to halt the exercises. “Residents of the border communities are not a testing ground for the State of Israel or a training zone for the Egyptian army.”
The statement also referenced past security policies, including Israel’s previous tolerance of incendiary balloons launched from Gaza, and recent reports of their reappearance near Kibbutz Nahal Oz.