Egypt detains two Arab-Israelis over assault of hotel employees in Red Sea resort town

The fight broke out after the tourists allegedly demanded access to meals and services they had not paid for

A Red Sea resort in the Sinai Peninsula. Egyptians have demanded justice after two Arab-Israelis allegedly attacked three hotel employees in Taba. AFP

Egypt's top prosecutor ordered the detention of two Arab-Israeli tourists accused of assaulting three hotel employees in the Red Sea resort town of Taba on Friday, amid running tension between the two countries since the start of the Israel-Gaza war.

One of the victims died of his injuries after he was taken to a hospital in Sharm El Sheikh, about 200km south of Taba, police said on Saturday. The government has yet to confirm the death.

The fight began after the tourists demanded access to meals and services they had not paid for, a judicial official told The National. The Egyptian victims were left with various injuries, including cuts and one case of a skull fracture, while hotel property was damaged. The prosecution told pro-government media that an investigation determined the tourists were the aggressors, based on evidence given by witnesses and security footage provided by the hotel.

The incident sparked outrage in Egypt, with many on social media channels demanding that the tourists be held accountable for their actions and calling on Israel to halt its attacks on the Gaza strip. Tension between Israel and Egypt has been running high since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people.

Israel responded by launching war on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 40,700 people and injured more than 94,000 in addition to laying waste to the Palestinian enclave's residential buildings and infrastructure. Sympathy for Palestinians has resulted in several attacks on Israelis in Egypt since October 7. The day after the war began, two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide were shot dead in the coastal city of Alexandria, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said at the time.

The attacker was an Egyptian police officer stationed at a Roman archaeological site in Alexandria. In another incident, an Israeli-Canadian businessman was fatally shot, also in Alexandria, with a previously unknown group claiming responsibility for the attack.

The group, which called itself the Vanguards of Liberation-the Martyr Mohammad Salah group, described the victim as an Israeli agent and said his killing was in retaliation for what it called massacres in Gaza and Israel's seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

The Egyptian government condemned the attacks and has taken steps to increase security measures to protect tourists and foreigners in the country.