Rocket attacks on the neighboring cities of Eilat, in Israel, and Aqaba, in Jordan, have been a tactic used by militants from the Palestinian group Hamas and organizations linked with Al-Qaeda because of the relative ease of launching rocket attacks against these two cities from adjacent desert areas."Jordan: 1 dead in rocket attack, Defense sources believe 6 Iranian-made Katyushas fired from Sinai", Yaakov Katz, Aug. 2, 2010, Jerusalem Post. Most of these attacks target Eilat, the last attack on Aqaba was in 2010.
Attacks February 20, 2017 Two rockets fired by militants from northern Sinai landed in southern Israel. The attack came a day after an ISIS affiliate claimed that several of its members had been killed by an Israeli drone. No damage or injuries were reported.
February 8, 2017
A number of rockets were shot at Eilat from the Sinai, three of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome. There were no reported casualties. The Islamic State in Sinai claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 24, 2014 Multiple rockets reported fired at Eilat. One rocket was shot down by the Iron Dome, and one lands in an open area within the city. No injuries reported, although several were treated for shock.
July 15, 2014 Three rockets are fired at Eilat. One hits a parked car near Eilat's airport, and four injuries were reported.
January 31, 2014
Multiple Grad rockets launched from Sinai targeting Eilat are reported. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome system. Alarm sounded and no injuries or fatalities were recorded. The Salafist organization Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis took responsibility.Reuters 31.1.14
January 20, 2014
Two Grad rockets were fired at Eilat from Sinai, falling short of the city and exploding in open areas. No injuries were reported.
August 12, 2013
The terror group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, an al-Qaeda-linked Salafist group operating in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, fired a rocket at Eilat. The projectile was intercepted by Iron Dome, which had recently been deployed in the area. Three residents were treated for acute stress reaction. No physical injuries or damage were reported.Iron Dome intercepts rocket bound for Eilat, Times of Israel 13-08-2013
July 4, 2013
A rocket was apparently fired from Egypt at Eilat. Israelis reported hearing several explosions in the area, and the remains of a rocket were found five days later.Rocket fired from Egypt found in Israel, Jerusalem Post 09-07-2013
April 17, 2013
Around 9 am, three rockets were fired at the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat, on the Red Sea coast. The rockets were believed to have been fired by Islamist terrorists from Egypt's adjacent Sinai Peninsula. One of the rockets exploded in the yard of a home. No physical injuries or damage were reported, but a number of residents suffered from acute stress reaction. The attack forced the complete closure of Eilat Airport. Two rockets also landed in Jordan's neighboring resort city of Aqaba.Rockets slam into Eilat following 'Code Red' siren, Jerusalem Post 17-04-2013Three explosions rock Eilat, Times of Israel 17-04-20133 rockets fired at Eilat; no injuries, Ynet News 17-04-2013
August 15, 2012
Two powerful blasts rocked the Eilat area. No injuries or damages were reported.2 blasts shake Eilat; Salafi group warns Egypt, Jerusalem Post 16-08-2012 Two days later Israeli Police found the remains of a Grad rocket.Police find remains of Grad rocket near Eilat, Jerusalem Post 17-08-2012
June 16, 2012
Two rockets shells were found in southern Israel, following reports overnight that an explosion had been heard in the area. No injuries or damages were reported in the incident. The IDF determined that the projectiles appeared to be Grad-type rockets. It was discovered that Hamas asked Egyptian Bedouins to fire the rockets at request of Muslim Brotherhood.Officials: Hamas ordered Grad attack on Israel at request of Muslim Brotherhood, Haaretz 17-06-2012
April 4, 2012
After nightfall, terrorists in the Sinai fired three Grad missiles at Eilat. Residents heard large explosions, and, the following day, police sappers found remnants of the missile on a residential construction site. A second rocket was found outside the city a few days later. No physical injuries or damage were reported, but some residents suffered from shock. no terrorist group had claimed responsibility.Grad rocket hits Eilat; none injured, Ynet News 05-04-2012Grad rocket slams into Eilat; none injured, Jerusalem Post 05-04-2012 In the aftermath, Israel published a statement that any rocket attacks from Sinai peninsula will be counted as Hamas responsibility. Also, Israel allowed the Egyptian military forces to enter the Sinai
August 2, 2010
The attack took place in the early morning. The projectiles were Iranian-made 122 mm Grad rockets, each weighing and with ranges of approximately .
Two rockets fell in front of the InterContinental hotel in Aqaba. Five Jordanian men traveling in a taxi nearby were wounded, one seriously. The driver, Subhi Yousef Alawneh, died from his injuries later the same day. The road was damaged and two vehicles were destroyed, though the hotel itself escaped harm.Hamas operatives were responsible for the two rocket attacks on Eilat and Aqaba. The Egyptian media strongly attacked Hamas and Iran because of the rocket fire, calling Hamas an "Iranian agent" and demanding it be punished. , Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center 15-08-2010"Victim of rocket that blasted Aqaba dies of wounds, 4 others injured", 2010-08-02, Ammon News.Jordanian national killed in multiple militant rocket strike, The Telegraph 02-08-2010
Three rockets fell on the city of Eilat, one in a drainage pool in the northern part of the city, causing no reported injuries or damage.
One rocket fell near an Egyptian security installation near Taba, and another fell into the Red Sea.
Source and perpetrators On 4 August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country had intelligence confirming that Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist militant group and de facto governing authority in the Gaza Strip, was responsible for the attack. He said the group was also responsible for a similar attack in April of that year (see below).PM: Hamas behind Eilat rocket attacks, Haaretz 05-08-2010 It is believed that the rockets were cached in the Sinai and that the perpetrators were affiliated with Hamas and came from Gaza."Fears for security of European Jews; Terror plot threat to IDF event in Paris raises fears of attack campaign against the diaspora," Ian Sparks and Anshel Pfeffer, September 17, 2010, Jewish Chronicle."Diskin: Expect more terrorism with progress in talks," Herb Keinon and Yaakov Katz, September 12, 2010, Jerusalem Post.
Egypt initially denied that the rockets had been launched from Egyptian territory,"One killed' after rockets strike Jordan and Israel," 2 August 2010, BBX. but reversed its position following investigations, stating that the rockets were fired simultaneously from the Taba region."Egypt: Eilat attack Hamas's work," staff, 08/04/2010, Jerusalem Post. Egyptian security sources implied that the rockets were launched by Hamas, stating that Hamas militants had snuck into Sinai through the Rafah tunnels to hide the fact that the group was behind the operation. Egyptian establishment media charged that Hamas was working "on the orders of their Iranian masters", and strongly attacked both Hamas and Iran for harming Egypt, claiming that Egypt would take revenge on the Palestinian group.
Palestinian Authority security officials said that the commander of Hamas' military wing in Rafah, Raed al Atar, was responsible for ordering the attack. Intelligence sources said that a number of militants under his control crossed into Sinai through the Rafah tunnels, where they were met by Egyptian drivers and the rockets. They then proceeded in off-road vehicles to Taba, avoiding security checks by the Egyptians.PA: Hamas military chief in Rafah ordered rocket attacks on Eilat, Aqaba, Haaretz 06-08-2010
Hamas and Islamic Jihad denied any link with the attacks. An anonymous Jordanian political source assessed that the attack was perpetrated by Tawhid al-Jihad, a radical Muslim group which opposes Hamas and collaborates with Sinai Bedouin who are at odds with the Egyptian authorities.ANALYSIS / Not everyone sees Hamas' fingerprints on Eilat rocket attack, Haaretz 06-08-2010
The September 2010 arrest in Egypt of Mohammed Dababish, the Hamas intelligence chief in Gaza, is thought to be linked to the August 2010 attacks.
Responses The Jordanian government condemned the rocket firings as a "terror attack."
Israeli President Shimon Peres said the attack appeared to be aimed at disrupting the possible resumption of direct peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships for the first time in over 18 months. "There is a real struggle in the Middle East between the peace camp of moderate countries and the camp of extremists, who want to sabotage any chance of peace," Peres said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar comments, telling Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that the attack telling "was committed by terror agents who want to thwart the peace process". "All states in the region that aspire towards peace should fight these powers, push terror away and bring peace closer," he added.Rocket remnants found north of Eilat, Ynet news 02-08-2010
In mid-September 2010, the United States State Department issued a travel advisory warning to American citizens advising them not to travel to Aqaba based on concrete information about planned terrorist rocket attacks similar to the previous incidents."More High Security Alerts for the Sinai," Arieh O'Sullivan, September 20, 2010, Media Line. The department lifted that warning on Sept. 27., WARDEN MESSAGE - GULF OF AQABA - UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 27, 2010
Political ramifications In the wake of the attack, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism accused the United States State Department of issuing a biased travel advisory, "singling out Eilat but not Aqaba, despite the fact that the rockets' only fatality was in the Jordanian city." Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov announced plans to take the issue up with U.S. ambassador James Cunningham, asserting that "Differentiating Israel from its neighbor that actually suffered loss of life is improper and lacks balance.""Israel: U.S. released biased travel warning in wake of Eilat attack Recent update to Israel travel advisory asks Eilat tourists to ensure they are aware of nearby bomb shelters, while failing to cite Jordan's Aqaba, the site of the rocket attack's only fatality", August 8, 2010, Reuters/Haaretz.
Egyptian response The August 2, 2010 rocket attack on Eilat and Aqaba sparked rage in Egypt at Hamas and Iran. The Egyptian press stated that the firing of the rockets from Egyptian territory by Hamas or by organizations cooperating with it constituted the crossing of a red line. The Egyptian position is that Iran is employing local proxies, such as Hamas, to escalate violence in the Middle East and to sabotage the Palestinian reconciliation efforts, as well as efforts to renew Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.Rage in Egypt at Hamas and Iran following Rocket Attacks on Eilat, Aqaba, MEMRI Special Dispatch No.3200
April 22, 2010 Before dawn, three 122mm Grad rockets were fired from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt at the resort town of Eilat at the extreme south of Israel. One rocket exploded in the neighboring town of Aqaba in Jordan, destroying an empty refrigerator warehouse. The other two rockets fell into the Red Sea. No injuries were reported. No group claimed responsibility, but it was later determined that Hamas was behind the attack."Two rockets land in Eilat area," 04/22/2010, Jerusalem Post.Israel, Jordan probe predawn rocket launch, UPI 22-04-2010
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