MISSILE STRIKES MEDICAL FACILITY IN EGYPTIAN RESORT TOWN NEAR ISRAELI BORDER
Cairo/Jerusalem, Oct 27 (Reuters) – A missile struck a medical facility in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Taba near the Israeli border early on Friday, injuring six people, according to Egypt’s Al Qahera News. Israel’s military has confirmed that it is aware of the security incident in the area.
Sources cited by Al Qahera reported that the blast in Taba was related to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas militants. This comes after Israel claimed earlier this week that a rocket, allegedly launched by Hamas, hit an area near Eilat, which is opposite Taba on the Israeli side of the border.
A witness in Taba, located around 220 kilometers (136 miles) from Gaza, reported hearing an explosion and seeing heavy smoke and dust rising from the scene. According to Al Qahera, the missile struck a Taba ambulance facility and a residential building belonging to the Taba Hospital administration.
At this time, Reuters has not been able to independently confirm these reports.
The Israeli military has stated that it is aware of the security incident but emphasized that it occurred “outside of our border.”
Taba is a popular resort town located on the Red Sea and attracts numerous tourists. It is situated just opposite Eilat, Israel’s Red Sea port city, which is over 350 kilometers (220 miles) away from Gaza.
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