Iron Dome deployed in Eilat amid Sinai unrest

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(JTA) — Israeli troops deployed an Iron Dome missile defense battery near Eilat at Israel’s southern tip, the Israeli army said.

The move Friday comes amid clashes in Sinai between forces of the Egyptian regime and Islamist groups and other militias, according to Army Radio.

Earlier this week, Egypt deployed two infantry battalions in the Sinai demilitarized zone with Israel’s permission, according to a report on the Israeli news site Ynet. The troops were ordered to raid compounds and areas under the control of the militias, the report said, with help from Egyptian special forces, gunship helicopters and armored vehicles.

Iron Dome batteries are placed in different areas of the country from time to time in response to the army’s assessment of security conditions, the IDF spokesman’s office said Friday.

Meanwhile, two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip Thursday evening landed in open territory near the Eshkol region, the Jerusalem Post reported. No injuries or damage were reported in the attack.

Earlier this month, IDF troops discovered the remains of the first rocket to be fired into Israel from Egypt since the July 3 overthrow of the Islamist government there, a military official said.

An IDF spokesman said the rocket remnant had been discovered in the hills north of Eilat.

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