Al-Areesh – Ma'an – Egyptian forces arrested an African migrant who they said was attempting to cross into Israel on Friday.

Egyptian police forces reported seeing the migrant 7 km from the Kerem Shalom crossing near Gaza, trying to cross the barbed wire border into Israeli territory.

The man was later identified as an 18-year-old Ethiopian.

Egypt said the migrant told authorities he paid 1,000 US dollars to foreign smugglers to help him enter Israel illegally, as had some of his friends and family. He added that there were some 300 migrants waiting to be similarly smuggled.