Israeli military shoots down rockets fired from Egypt

JERUSALEM – The Israeli military says its missile defence system has intercepted several rockets fired from Egypt toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

The military said sirens sounded in Eilat late Wednesday. Israeli Army Radio said residents reported hearing several explosions. The military said that its Iron Dome missile defence system shot down several rockets and that no injuries were reported.

Rocket attacks on Eilat are relatively rare. Islamic militants in Egypt’s lawless Sinai region have been behind a number of such attacks on the city in recent years. It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets Wednesday.

Egypt has been battling militants, many linked to the Islamic State group, in its restive Sinai peninsula.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979 and maintain close security co-operation.

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