Egypt releases Israeli citizen detained last month in Sinai

Daniel Haim, an Israeli citizen who was detained last month in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, was released late Saturday, Israeli media reported.

He was detained in August while visiting after having old bullets in his possession. The bullets were left in his possession due to his work as a security guard at a security company, N12 reported.

Haim, 24, was reunited with his family in Eilat. He is from Holon and recently completed his IDF service, Walla reported. Haim also has a gun license, according to Ynet.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen thanked the authorities in Egypt and the Foreign Affairs Ministry Director-General Ronen Levy for coordinating the actions that led to Haim's release.

Response from Haim's lawyer

"This is a young man who crossed the border with some other friends to Sinai for a few days of vacation," Haim's lawyer Boaz Koenig initially told Walla.

"Because the bullets were found in the bag after they were probably forgotten there without any malicious intent, during his work as a security guard employed by a security company."

Haim was detained for 15 days after his arrest, reports said, and the Israeli Embassy in Cairo had been in contact with his family and other relevant parties since the arrest was made known, according to Walla.

Another Israeli, Nehorai Yitzhak Tamsit, was also arrested in Egypt's Sinai peninsula last month but has also been released. The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that Tamsit had been arrested following a fight with a resident in the peninsula.