Photo: Spokesperson police southern region
Islamic Militant group in Sinai claims responsibility; one rocket falls at building site, second falls in open area.
At least two Grad rockets fired from the Sinai area hit Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat on Wednesday morning, causing no injuries but some damage.
An Islamist militant group in the Sinai Peninsula Magles Shoura al-Mujahadin claimed responsibility for the attack on its website on Wednesday saying it targeted Eilat with two Grad missiles and then withdrew safely.
One of the rockets fell in an open area and one landed in a construction site. Israeli media also reported a possible third missile landing on the outskirts of the city. A number of local residents were reportedly being treated for shock.
An Eilat police spokesman told the Israeli media that sirens were heard in the city at around 9 am, followed by several explosions.
Two rockets also landed in the neighboring Jordanian resort city of Aqaba, Israel Radio reported, although later quoted Jordanian authorities as saying that no rockets had fallen in the city.
Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said bomb disposal crews located the rockets in different locations, and that air traffic in the area had been curtailed. “We shut down the airport for security reasons. We’ll take additional precautions in the event of more rocket sirens,” he told The Jerusalem Post. The airport was later returned to full operations, Israel Radio said.
The IDF deployed an Iron Dome battery outside the southern resort city at the beginning of the month, in anticipation of possible rocket fire from the Sinai peninsula.
In Sinai, Egyptian security forces began a search of the border area to investigate the Israeli claims.
“There is not yet any evidence indicating that these rockets were fired from Egypt,” an Egyptian security source said.
The Jerusalem Post has the full article
