WarSclerotic

Security forces continued searching on Friday for the remnants of the two Grad rockets that exploded near Eilat Wednesday night. The searches are being conducted just west of the city, an area frequented by tourists during the day.

According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the teams expanded the radius of their search after learning that residents living near the hills west of the city had called in at the time of explosions saying they saw flashes on the hilltops. The explosions were heard in neighboring Jordanian port city Akaba. Egypt voiced concerns of regional escalation and reinforced its presence at the Taba border crossing after the rocket strike. Southern Route 12, which was the scene of a deadly terrorist attack that left eight Israelis dead one year ago, was left open, though most drivers opted to drive on Route 90, which straddles the Jordanian border.

An unheard of organization called “The Salafist Front in Sinai” claimed responsibility on Thursday for the rocket attack. The group, which is ideologically aligned with the global jihad movement, wrote: “The fighters of the Salafist Front in Sinai stand behind the rocket fire on occupied Umm al-Rashrash [Eilat’s former name]. The Salafist Front in Sinai will continue to operate against the occupying Zionists and their allies.” The group took responsibility for sabotaging the gas pipeline between Egypt and Israel earlier in the year and condemned the Egyptian security forces’ new efforts to contain the terrorism in Sinai.

Meanwhile, Eilat went back to business as usual. Hotels did not report any cancellations as a result of the attack. Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi however, voiced his concern, saying “we have become a city under rocket threat, much like half of the cities in Israel.”