Egyptian army denies Israel carried out airstrikes in Sinai

Israeli planes did not carry out airstrikes against militants inside the Egyptian territories, an Egyptian army spokesman said on Friday.

A massive explosion was heard on Friday in the Egyptian side of the border with Israel, Al Arabiya correspondent said, adding that several militants were killed or wounded in the attack.

The source of the explosion was not immediately known. Initial reports attributed the bombing to Israeli airstrikes, but the Egyptian military source denied Israeli air force had carried out any raids inside Egypt.

The Egyptian military official said the Egyptian borders are a “red a line.”

The Palestinian news agency Maan had quoted an Egyptian army source as saying that an Israeli plane targeted rockets launchers in an area in the Egyptian Rafah. The launchers were reportedly deployed on Thursday by Islamist militants.