Israeli authorities declared the end to a security alert on Tuesday afternoon, after security forces descended on the southern Israeli city of Eilat amid reports of a suspected terrorist infiltration.
“The suspicion of a security incident in the area of Highway 12 near the city of Eilat has been removed. The access roads to and from the city are open to traffic; there is no change in the directives of the Home Front Command,” the Israel Defense Forces stated.
הוסר החשד לאירוע ביטחוני במרחב כביש 12 הסמוך לעיר אילת.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 16, 2024
צירי הגישה לעיר וממנה פתוחים לתנועה, אין שינוי בהנחיות פיקוד העורף
Earlier, the Police Spokesperson’s Unit had announced, “Due to a suspected security incident on Highway 12, in the Eilat area, Eilat precinct police forces, including Yasam, Border Police and IDF forces, are currently blocking access routes to the city of Eilat. Drivers are requested to choose alternative routes. Please avoid approaching the area. Any unusual incident should be reported immediately to the Israel Police emergency hotline 100.”
Highway 12 runs northwest from the city to the Egyptian border.
Residents of Eilat were instructed to hold educational activities inside protected buildings while the incident was being investigated, according to Ynet.
Security forces were also checking to determine if the infiltration warning was possibly connected to a large-scale military exercise earlier in the day that Rafael Advanced Defense Systems carried out.
Three IDF soldiers were killed in two separate exchanges of fire with a terrorist along the southern border with Egypt in June 2023. The terrorist, identified as an Egyptian police officer, was killed.
Sinai-based terrorists carried out multiple attacks against Israel in 2011 and 2012, before a high-tech security fence was completed. In August 2011, terrorists killed six Israeli civilians, an IDF soldier, an Israeli police counterterrorism officer and five Egyptian soldiers.
