A strike in the resort town of Taba in the Sinai Peninsula early Friday morning originated from “the Red Sea area,” according to an Israeli military official, in an apparent reference to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Arabic-language media cited an Egyptian military source as saying the blast that lightly wounded six people was caused by a drone.
Taba is located along the border with Israel, some six miles from the southernmost city of Eilat.
“In the last few hours, an aerial threat was detected in the Red Sea area. Fighter jets were scrambled to the threat and the issue is being probed,” said IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari on Friday.
“Our understanding is the impact in Egypt originated from this threat. Israel will work together with [Cairo] and the United States to enhance defense measures against these threats,” he added.
Two Egyptian security sources told Reuters that a projectile also fell in the Red Sea town of Nuweiba.
Last week, the USS Carney, a U.S. Navy destroyer, shot down missiles and drones from Yemen that could have been aimed at Israel, the Pentagon said.
“The crew of the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney, operating in the northern Red Sea earlier today, shot down three land-attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Defense Department spokesman.
“They were launched from Yemen, heading north along the Red Sea, potentially toward targets in Israel,” Ryder said.
On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that American military forces struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated terror proxies.
The strikes came in response to a series of attacks this week by Iranian-backed groups against American personnel stationed in Iraq and Syria.
“Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people,” according to a statement by Austin.
“These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense were intended solely to protect and defend U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict,” the defense chief added.
“We continue to urge all state and non-state entities not to take action that would escalate into a broader regional conflict,” he said.
