BICOM

Two Grad rockets were fired yesterday evening at Israel’s southernmost city Eilat. No injuries were reported and this morning an Islamist group based in the Sinai Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack.

Several loud explosions were heard in Eilat at around 7pm yesterday and initial reports suggested the blasts occurred in the city’s tourist area. However, the two rockets landed in open areas and did not cause injuries or damage. Israeli security forces are continuing to search for remnants of the rockets. According to Ynet, an Islamist group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has been fighting Egypt’s military rulers, released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. They added, “Our war with the enemy in Egypt will not distract us from the war with the nation’s first enemy, Israel.”

Eilat has been the target of Islamist violence from Sinai before, with two Grad rockets fired at the city in April, while the city’s airport was closed in August as a precaution. Eilat is an important tourist resort and commercial port and yesterday’s attack will raise Israeli concerns that attacks from Sinai could pose an increasing security threat to the city. The Sinai Peninsula, which borders both Israel and the Gaza Strip, has been plagued by violence since the collapse of the Mubarak regime in 2010. Islamist groups have attacked Egyptian security positions with regularity and Israel is permitting Egyptian forces, including Apache helicopters, to operate in northern Sinai to combat the Islamist threat.

Meanwhile, shortly before midnight yesterday, three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev region, causing no injuries or damage. It follows a sharp increase in Gaza rocket fire this month, which prompted Israel to target an Islamic Jihad operative earlier this week. Israel Radio news suggests that Hamas, which administers the Gaza Strip has deployed hundreds of officers to prevent rocket fire for fear of a wider confrontation developing.