A series of explosions resonated off the coast of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, as per state-linked media reports. Witnesses claimed to have observed an unidentified object plummeting into the Gulf of Aqaba following the blasts.
Al Qahera News television, affiliated with state intelligence, disclosed that the detonations took place approximately two kilometers (1.2 miles) off the shores of Dahab, a seaside town in Egypt.
“We heard a loud explosion coming from the direction of the sea, and then we saw a strange object falling into the water,” an eyewitness told media.
Fortunately, no casualties resulting from the incident have been reported thus far.
Dahab is situated roughly 125 kilometers (75 miles) south of Eilat, located on the southern edge of Israel—a region embroiled in a prolonged and deadly conflict with militants associated with Hamas in Gaza for over 11 weeks.
Instances of airborne objects being intercepted near southern Sinai have been recurring, with the Egyptian military occasionally attributing these occurrences to “drones originating from the southern part of the Red Sea.”
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched numerous attempted drone and missile assaults towards Israel since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7. However, the majority of these endeavors have failed to reach their intended targets and have often been intercepted.
The Houthis claim these strikes are in solidarity with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where the health ministry reports a staggering toll of over 20,900 casualties in the ongoing conflict.
The conflict escalated when militants affiliated with the Palestinian Islamist group breached Gaza’s border with Israel on October 7, resulting in approximately 1,140 fatalities, predominantly civilians, based on figures compiled by media.
In late October, two drones crash-landed in Taba, bordering Israel, causing injuries to six individuals in Egypt.
Earlier this month, the Egyptian air force successfully downed a drone detected over Egypt’s territorial waters, near Dahab. However, a security source indicated uncertainty about the drone’s origin.
