IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi at the Egyptian border
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi at the Egyptian borderIDF Spokesperson

New details are coming out about the attack on the Egyptian border early Saturday morning, which left three IDF soldiers, Ori Yitzhak Illouz, Lia Bin-Nun, and Ohad Dahan, dead.

Among the items the terrorist had on his person was a Quran, which may be a sign that he had become radicalized. The IDF estimates that that drove him to carry out the attack.

Galei Tzahal reported that a knife was found on the terrorist, with which he cut the zip ties that held the gate he entered closed. He was also found to have six weapon magazines, showing that the attack was well-planned.

Maariv published details about the terrorist's plan of action: he walked a distance of about six kilometers (approx. 3.7 miles) from the installment where he was based, climbed a cliff, and arrived at the border fence while carrying a backpack full of gear. Using one of the knives in his possession, he opened a gate on the fence, which was meant to be opened quickly and was closed using only a zip tie, and approached the soldiers who did not notice him.

At this point, the terrorist opened fire at them and killed Lia Bin-Nun and Ori Yitzhak Illouz. The soldiers at the guard post were shot at around 6:00 AM, while the last time they were heard from was shortly after 4:00. A few minutes before 9:00 that morning, the platoon commander arrived to switch shifts and discovered the gruesome scene.

It was also found that at around 6:00 AM, an additional guard post in the area reported hearing gunshots, but the report did not receive any special attention since the sound of gunshots is commonplace in the area. Once the two bodies were discovered, a large number of forces were called to the area, at the same time, the terrorist was identified in Israeli territory. The inquiry into the incident found that during the firefight in which Ssg. Ohad Dahan was killed the terrorist was the first to fire.

The Brigade Commander's mobile command center closed in on the terrorist after he was identified by a drone, exited the vehicle, and the terrorist opened fire from a distance of a few hundred meters. The initial fire hit Ohad, and according to IDF sources, the fire was not precise.