WarSclerotic

Two powerful explosions echoed through the Red Sea resort town of Eilat on Thursday night, shortly before 10 p.m. The Color Red alert did not sound beforehand. Several city residents dialed the police emergency hotline and reported the blasts.

The Israel Defense Forces and police dispatched personnel to locate the blast site and any possible projectiles, but have not reported any findings.

The blasts came as fighting between the Egyptian army and armed groups intensified in northern Sinai, near the city of el-Arish and Egypt’s border with Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF has not deployed an Iron Dome missile-defense system battery near coastal Eilat, which is a popular domestic and foreign tourist destination situated at Israel’s southernmost tip, despite terrorist activities in the Sinai Peninsula that have spiked following the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Eilat District Police chief Commander Ron Gartner called a meeting with local defense officials to assess the situation. On Friday morning, the IDF and police had yet to present any information about the blast sites, and whether they were located within city limits or in its environs. The Eilat Police, in coordination with the Home Front Command, decided that the city and its residents could return to normal, and residents who remained in bomb shelters could leave them.

“I was on my way the Chicago Restaurant at the Hilton Hotel,” recounted one Eilat resident. “Just as I was approaching the entrance to the restaurant I heard one big boom and then another one. I was very scared, but I saw that it wasn’t fazing anyone else so maybe it was just me, though it’s possible people didn’t hear [the blast] because of the music.”

Two rockets launched from Sinai exploded in Eilat in April, causing no damages or injuries. One rocket exploded in a private home’s backyard, and the second rocket’s shell was discovered following an extensive search in a residential area of the city.