Israel had prior warnings of potential terror attacks from Sinai

• Published 20:37 18.08.11
• Latest update 20:37 18.08.11

Senior government official says security officials received warning of possible attack, but disagreed about its severity.

By Barak Ravid and Haaretz 

Israel's security services received information about a possible terrorist attack from Sinai, a senior government official told Haaretz on Thursday. As a result, counterterrorism forces in Eilat were put on alert, as well as police forces. However, the official said there were internal arguments concerning the severity of the warning. 

Two people were critically wounded Thursday evening when gunfire erupted close to the site of a deadly series of terror attacks earlier in the day in which eight people had been killed. 

	Israeli security officers patrol at a roadblock near Tzihor junction, about 60km (37 miles) north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, August 18, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

The eight were killed and dozens more were wounded in an apparently coordinated series of gun attacks and artillery strikes approximately 20 kilometers north of the southern city of Eilat, close to the border with Egypt.


A short time before the renewed gunfire, IDF aircraft struck targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least six people, including a senior Palestinian militant. 

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-had-prior-warnings-of-potential-terror-attacks-from-sinai-1.379411