Funeral of officer killed in attack in Giza
Funeral of officer killed in attack in GizaReuters

Israel on Saturday evening condemned Friday's terrorist attack in Giza, Egypt, in which more than 50 police officers were killed during a raid on a terrorist hideout.

“Israel strongly condemns the severe terrorist attack in the al-Wahat al-Bahriya area in Egypt, sends condolences on behalf of the people of Israel to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and the people of Egypt, and sends wishes for a quick recovery to the injured,” said a statement from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office.

“There is no difference between the terrorism that strikes in Egypt and the terrorism that strikes in other countries. Terrorism will be defeated quicker if all countries are united in taking action against it,” the statement added.

52 Egyptian security personnel were killed in Friday's shoot-out with suspected Islamist terrorists.

Two security sources stated that a police convoy came under attack by terrorists using rocket-propelled grenades and explosive devices, reported the Egypt Independent.

A number of suspected militants were also killed and security forces continue to comb the area, according to a statement by the Interior Ministry after the attack.

The hideout reportedly belonged to suspected members of Hasm, a group which has claimed several attacks around the capital targeting judges and policemen since last year.

Egypt accuses Hasm of being a wing of the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization which was outlawed in 2013. The Muslim Brotherhood denies this.

In addition to Hasm, Egypt has in recent years been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula which has grown since the military overthrew Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi in mid-2013.

Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, the group staging the insurgency in the Sinai, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 and is now known as Sinai Province.

It is blamed for the killing of hundreds of soldiers and policemen and has started to target other areas, including Egypt’s Christian Copts.