Israel: IS fires rockets from Sinai into south Oct. 15

Event

On Sunday night, October 15, two rockets were fired from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt into the Eshkol area of southern Israel, according to the Israeli military. No damage or casualties were reported. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks on Monday.

Context

Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement in 1979 establishing military restrictions in the Sinai Peninsula, which links mainland Egypt and Israel. However, an Islamist insurgency established itself in the Sinai Peninsula after President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was overthrown in a coup by the Egyptian military in 2013. In April 2017, IS's Egyptian branch claimed responsibility for a number of cross-border rocket launches, and various cross-borders military incidents (rocket launches, airstrikes, assaults on suspected terrorists, etc.) have since occurred between Egypt and Israel in the Sinai Peninsula.

Advice

Due to the ongoing terrorist threat, travelers to Israel are advised to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and to remain vigilant when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, etc.). As a reminder, some Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and areas near the Lebanese, Syrian, and Egyptian borders.