The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said on Monday that prior intelligence alerts played a " vital role" in foiling Sunday evening's lethal terror attack along the border with Egypt.

IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai said the intelligence and Shin Bet security services had gathered in advance of the incident, helped the military thwart its effect on the Israeli side and quickly strike back at the militants.

In the large-scale raid, dozens of masked global jihad- affiliated gunmen attacked an Egyptian border outpost and killed some 16 Egyptian security personnel, and may have abducted others.

They continued on to breach the Kerem Shalom border crossing with an armored vehicle, in an apparent attempt to kidnap soldiers or possibly residents of one of the dozens of nearby Israeli farms and villages.

"We were prepared for it, therefore there was a hit. We tracked the attempted attack and fortunately there were no injuries among IDF forces or residents of the area," he said in an official statement released Monday.

One vehicle exploded at the crossing, and Israeli aircraft soon struck down another vehicle and its occupants before they managed to get far into Israeli territory. Several militants apparently escaped back into Egypt and several were killed.

Mordechai stressed the central role the intelligence information has played in thwarting the attack.

"This is a meaningful success of both the soldiers and the Shin Bet security services in foiling such a substantial attack," Mordechai said.

"This is an extremely serious incident," he emphasized, adding that the IDF "is in contact with the Egyptians and we will study this event, which is a product of the terror infrastructure in Sinai."