Egyptian Guards Shoot Eritrean Woman at Israel Border

Egyptian border guards shot and injured an Eritrean woman Saturday as she tried to cross into Israel without a permit, Egyptian security sources and medics said.

Security officials told Ma'an that the woman attempted to cross the border two kilometers south of Kerem Shalom crossing.

The undocumented migrant ignored border guard's warnings to stop, and forces shot her twice in the knee, officials said.

The woman was taken to an Egyptian hospital for treatment. She told officers that she wanted to enter Israeli for work and that she had paid smugglers to assist her to cross the border without a visa, security sources added.

The Sinai peninsula is a major transit route for African migrants and refugees seeking work or asylum in Israel. It is also used by smugglers to ferry narcotics and weapons into Israel and a range of goods into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Egypt has come under pressure from Israel to stop the flow, but international rights groups have called on Egypt to investigate its border guards' suspected use of excessive force against unarmed migrants.

Hundreds of Africans seeking political asylum and jobs try to cross from Egypt into Israel every year.