Rockets hit Israel, Jordan resorts
Attack kills one, injures five; no reports of casualties on Israeli side
A rocket that was probably aimed at the southern Israeli resort of Eilat slammed into the neighbouring Jordanian resort of Aqaba on Monday, Jordanian and Israeli officials said.
Jordan’s information minister, Ali Ayed, said one rocket struck a main street in Aqaba, killing one and injuring five people. “Around 7:45 am, a Grad missile came from outside the kingdom. It is premature to make any conclusions at the moment about where it came from because it is under investigation.”
The Israeli police and military said that four or five explosions were heard in the Eilat area around 8 o’clock on Monday morning. A police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said the blasts were caused by rockets fired in the direction of the Israeli city. There were no reports of injuries or damage on the Israeli side. Security forces were searching the area to determine whether the other rockets had fallen on the outskirts of the city or in the sea.
Eilat sits on the Gulf of Aqaba close to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
A military spokeswoman said the Israeli military was in contact with militaries of Jordan and Egypt.
In a similar incident in April, rockets were fired toward Eilat and Aqaba. One hit a Jordanian warehouse. Israel determined that those rockets had been fired from Egyptian territory.
In Aqaba, black uniformed security forces set up checkpoints and a helicopter circled overhead.
A Polish tourist, Piotr Dudojc, said that he had been sleeping on the roof of a hotel in Aqaba when he was awakened by two explosions. “It was about 8 am but I’m not sure because I didn’t check the time. I looked out at the city and I saw the smoke and took two photographs. I think it was near the InterContinental Hotel.”
Outside the sand-coloured InterContinental Aqaba, Jordanian security forces armed with automatic weapons sealed off King Hussein Bin Talal Street with black and yellow tape as fire department vehicles and ambulances arrived.
The New York Times
