Egypt denies assisting Israel with explosives shipment

Egypt on Thursday denied it assisted Israeli military operations after media reported an Egyptian port received a shipment of explosives bound for an Israeli defence contractor.

"The Egyptian Armed Forces categorically deny what has been circulated on social media and suspicious accounts and what is being promoted about assisting Israel in its military operations in general and in detail," the army said in a statement.

Human rights lawyers on Wednesday filed a court appeal in Berlin seeking to block a 150-metric-ton shipment of military-grade explosives aboard German cargo ship MV Kathrin which they said was for Israel's biggest defence contractor, Elbit Systems.

LSEG data and vessel-tracking website Marine Traffic showed the MV Kathrin docked in Egypt's port at Alexandria on Monday.

The Egyptian ministry of transport explained later on Thursday that the ship docked in Alexandria to unload a shipment for Egypt's ministry of military production, adding that the ship submitted an official request to leave to Turkey.

The European Legal Support Center's case argued the explosives could be used in munitions for Israel's war in Gaza, potentially contributing to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Because of the explosives bound for Israel, the MV Kathrin was denied entry at several African and Mediterranean ports, including in Angola, Slovenia, Montenegro and Malta, according to the ELSC. It said Portuguese authorities recently required the ship to switch from a Portuguese flag to a German flag before it could continue.

Germany said the cargo was neither loaded nor dispatched from its territory thus did not require an export licence.