• Islamist militants claim rocket attack on Israel Red Sea resort

    Egypt's military is searching for those behind a rocket attack that hit in the resort city of Eilat, Israel. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    By Alastair Jamieson and Lawahez Jabari, NBC News

    TEL AVIV – Israel’s Red Sea resort of Eilat was hit by two rockets fired from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula Wednesday, but there were was no sign of damage or injury.

    Hardline Islamic militant group Magles Shoura al-Mujahddin claimed responsibility in a statement on its website, Reuters reported.

    Noa Eliyah / AFP/Getty Images

    Israeli policemen inspect the site of a rocket explosion in Eilat, Wednesday.

    The statement said the attack was in retaliation for what it described as the Israeli army's attack on protesters demonstrating over the death of a Palestinian prisoner.

    Local television showed the casing of the one of the rockets lying in sand at a construction site in the resort city, Al Jazeera reported.

    Israel’s military said the rockets caused neither damage nor injury.

    The peninsula was demilitarized during the rule of dictator Hosni Mubarak, but since he was swept from power in the 2011 Arab Spring, Islamic militants have begun activities in the region.

    Reuters added:

    Ran Shauli / AP

    The scene of a rocket attack in Eilat, Israel, Wednesday.

    Israel deployed an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery in Eilat some two weeks ago, a period coinciding with the Jewish Passover holiday when the city at the tip of Gulf of Aqaba is packed with vacationers.

    But on Wednesday, the system did not intercept the incoming missiles ``for operational reasons'', a military spokeswoman said, without elaborating.

    Egypt's military said it was still investigating whether the rockets had come from Egypt.

    "We are still investigating to see if they were delivered from Egyptian territories but nothing is confirmed yet," a senior military official told agency AFP.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • From danger zone to organic pepper farm: Israel targets mine fields

    Israel is removing 7,000 land mines placed along the border by the country's military in 1968.

    By Paul Goldman, NBC News

    NEOT HAKIKAR, Israel -- The usually sleepy border between Israel and Jordan is being disturbed by the sounds of explosions. At the lowest place on earth south of the Dead Sea, Israel has started a huge project to clear 7,000 M-35 anti-personnel mines.

    Neot Hakikar is an agricultural zone situated near the border with Jordan. It is receiving a facelift with the help of the "Mine Wolf" -- a specialized mine-clearing vehicle. Its spinning drum has metal teeth that turn up the ground and destroy any mines in its path.

    The mines were planted by the Israeli Army in 1968 in a bid to stop Jordanian soldiers from crossing the border. Israel now wants to grow organic peppers on the land.

     "Our goal is to ... release the land in order to give it back to the people," said Michael Hyman of the Israel National Mine Authority.

    The sight of these mines blowing up one-by-one provides a sad reminder of a friend who took his family on a trip to the Golan Heights last year. The Golan is known for its beauty but also for the high number of mines left during the 1973 war between the Israel and Syria. My friend's 11-year-old son was playing in the snow when he stepped on a land mine. It exploded and the boy lost one of his legs.

    The demining operation is the first of its kind in Israel and follows a new law passed by the country's parliament. Authorities aim to clear some 32,500 acres of land and an estimated 700,000 mines. 

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