Egyptian authorities have initiated a criminal investigation following the deadly shooting of an Israeli-Canadian businessman in Alexandria on Tuesday.
The victim has been identified by Israeli and Arabic media as Ziv Kipper, who was the head of an Egyptian food exporting company.
A previously unknown entity, calling itself the Vanguards of Liberation – the Martyr Mohammad Salah group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. This name seems to refer to an Egyptian police officer who was killed after assassinating three Israeli soldiers last year.
The group issued a statement labeling Mr. Kipper as an Israeli agent and claimed that his assassination was in response to what it termed massacres in Gaza and Israel’s takeover of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which also occurred on Tuesday.
A security source informed Reuters that they had no knowledge of such a group or its involvement in the attack on Tuesday.
Neither Israel nor Egypt have officially confirmed the identity of the deceased.
However, the Israeli foreign ministry acknowledged that the deceased was a businessman holding dual Canadian-Israeli citizenship and mentioned that the Israeli embassy in Cairo was coordinating with Egyptian officials.
Egypt’s interior ministry noted that the man had been “residing permanently” in Egypt and stated that “legal action has been taken,” though no further details were provided.
James Emmanuel Wanki, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, confirmed awareness of a Canadian citizen’s death in Egypt and expressed deep condolences to the family.
“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities and available to provide consular assistance to the family,” he said.
“Due to privacy regulations, no additional information can be disclosed.”
Mr Kipper is listed online as the CEO of OK Group, which was founded in 2008 and exports frozen fruits and vegetables. Its headquarters is in Alexandria.