Five rockets fired towards Israel, Jordan resorts

While Egypt denied that the rockets had been fired from its territory, Israeli defense officials said that the rockets had been fired from the Sinai Peninsula, a known safe haven for global jihad elements as well as Hamas terrorists. The rockets were Grad-model Katyushas, and officials were investigating to see if they had originated in Iran.

The IDF now plans to decide shortly whether to connect Eilat to the “Color Red” rocket warning system, which is deployed in towns along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials did not rule out the possibility that Hamas or another Palestinian terror organization was behind the rocket attacks, which, they said, were aimed at derailing diplomatic progress in peace talks with the Palestinians, as well as damaging the tourist season in Eilat.

If carried out by global jihad elements, the rocket attacks were also likely meant to embarrass Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and make it appear that he has lost control of his country.

In total, six rockets were fired from Sinai early Monday morning. One landed in the Sinai, another in a field near Eilat and two in the Red Sea. Two more rockets landed in Jordan near the Intercontinental Hotel in Aqaba, killing one person and wounding four others.