CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A missile launched as part of fighting between Hamas militants and Israel struck an Egyptian resort town about 220 km (135 miles) from the Gaza Strip early on Friday, Egypt’s Al Qahera News reported, citing sources.
The missile hit a medical facility in Taba, injuring at least six people, Al Qahera TV reported. A witness in Taba confirmed hearing an explosion and seeing smoke rising, but Reuters was not immediately able to identify the blast’s source.
Taba straddles Egypt’s border with Israel’s Red Sea port of Eilat. Israel’s military said it was aware of a security incident outside its borders.
Hamas said on Wednesday it had targeted Eilat with a missile, which the Israeli military said hit an outlying area. That incident appeared to be the longest-range Palestinian attack of the Gaza war raging since Oct. 7
There was no immediate claim of responsibility after Friday morning’s blast.
The Taba explosion highlights the risk facing Egypt and other countries in the region as fighting intensifies between Israel and Hamas.
Egypt has taken an active role in negotiating access to aid for Palestinians, trying to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas and advocating for a ceasefire.
But its proximity to the front line has exposed it to risks. On Oct. 22, several Egyptian border guards were injured after being accidentally hit by fragments of a shell from an Israeli tank. Israel apologised for the incident.
Al Qahera reported the missile strike on Friday hit a Taba ambulance facility and a residential building for the administration of the Taba Hospital.
Taba, in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, is popular with tourists. It is about a three-hour drive from Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The U.S. military, which is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar, said last week a Navy warship in the northern Red Sea intercepted projectiles launched by Yemen’s Youthi group potentially toward Israel.
(Reporting by Emily Rose in Jerusalem, Nafisa Eltahir, Ahmed Tolba and Hatem Maher in Cairo and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia, Egypt; writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Michael Perry)