A demonstrator who replaced the Israeli flag with the Egyptian one on the roof of the Israeli embassy in Cairo early on Sunday was hailed as a hero by other protesters, eyewitnesses reported.
Five Egyptian policemen were reportedly killed by Israeli helicopters on Thursday. Egypt demanded an official apology, but there was none.
Egyptian authorities on Saturday said they would recall the country's ambassador to Israel but later canceled their decision, saying they would limit themselves to inviting the Israeli ambassador to Egypt for consultations at the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo overnight to protest the killings, burning an Israeli flag and demanding that Egypt's ties with Israel be severed.
The protests come after the Israeli military launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip in response to a series of attacks in southern Israel on Thursday in which eight people died. Israel said the attackers came from Gaza and entered Israel through Egypt's Sinai Desert.
