Israel 'shoots down rocket aimed for Eilat'

Israel shot down a rocket today that was aimed at its southern city of Eilat and blew it up in mid-air, according to officials.

Islamist militants operating in the desert Sinai Peninsula near the border said they fired the rocket at the city, which was packed with tourists, in retaliation for the killing of four guerrillas in Sinai on Friday.

Air raid sirens rang out and blasts reverberated over the hills surrounding the resort on the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba, witnesses and Israeli news media said.

No casualties or damage were reported.

A retired national security official said it was the first time Israel’s Iron Dome interceptor system had struck a missile fired at Eilat.

“It’s not the first time that a rocket has been fired at Eilat, but it is the first time the Iron Dome has intercepted one,” Dani Arditi told Army Radio.

Eilat airport was briefly shut on Thursday citing threats from militants in Sinai involved in a standing confrontation with the Egyptian military.

Israel has also boosted its rocket defences near its southern border with Egypt.