Israel has advised its citizens to leave Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and warned of imminent attacks following an increase in deadly operations by militants. A “first level” threat has been issued by the Israeli counter-terrorism security office telling Israeli tourists of the risks in the area bordering Israel, describing the threat as “very high and concrete.”
The statement issued by the counter-terrorism office warned of “the possibility of attacks against tourist sites in the Sinai region in the near future.”
The Sinai Peninsula has been the target of increased attacks by Islamist militants since a military coup ousted President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The militants are believed to be linked to Daesh, which has launched a number of deadly cross-border attacks on Israel in the past few years and fired occasional rockets across the border resort of Eilat in southern Israel. Egyptian police stations and army barracks have also been targeted, with five soldiers killed in the latest round of violence this week.