An Egyptian border guard killed three Israeli soldiers at the edge of Sinai, shattering decades of calm between the once warring two nations who signed an unpopular peace treaty known at Camp David in 1979.

Israel claims the attack was a premeditated plan, an act of ‘lone wolf terrorism’ by the 22-year-old conscript Mohammed Salah Ibrahim.

Egypt, however, claimed he was chasing smugglers, suggesting the killing was accidental.

Either way, Egypt is deeply embarrassed by the incident, with Cairo concealing the man’s identity for days and then banning his family from holding a public funeral, fearing he would become a martyr over his actions.