Before this explosion, the seaside resort of Eilat in the south of Israel, located on the Red Sea, was rather preserved from the upheavals of the war. The population is worried.
However, the region is considered safe in Israel. The city of Eilat, in the very south of the country, on the edge of the Red Sea, was hit on Thursday, November 9, for the first time since the conflict between Israel and Hamas. A still unidentified flying object fired from Syria, according to the Israeli army, fell on a school in the city.
There were no injuries but material damage. The windows at the entrance were blown out by the explosion. The metal door is totally curved. Aran, the head of security in Eilat schools, came with his teams to remove the fallen sheet metal. The damage is significant. “The blast caused structural deformations, even in metal beamsdescribes Aran. We can see that all the plaster is damaged, that the glass blocks have exploded.”
The explosion surprised around thirty students
The flying object still unidentified by the Israeli army fell into an upstairs room. The ground is covered with rubble and school books. Experts are due to come by on Sunday to check the condition of the building.
“You can see that the structure was crushed by the blast. You can see the cracks that appeared in the ceiling and walls.”
Aran, head of security in Eilat schoolsin franciffo
The establishment is now closed to the public, protected by a barrier. The explosion surprised the thirty students still present there, including seven in a nearby class. No alarm sounded, confirms a resident who lives just behind the establishment: “It was really strange because there was no alarm before or after. There was such a loud noise that the whole house shook. The windows vibrated, I thought that They were going to explode.”
“We have complete trust in the Israeli army”
Enough to worry the population and the town hall which, as a security measure, closed all the city’s schools today. Aran remains confident: “It’s war… it’s clear! We know very well that the protection system is not completely waterproof, there are a few small flaws here and there. But we benefit from several layers of protection from the sea, from the ground and in the airspace, and the Israeli military is fully trusted to do the job.”
Eilat, so far spared, nevertheless remains under permanent threat from Houthi rebels from Yemen and now from Syria, from where the projectile was fired, according to the Israeli army.
A projectile of unknown origin hits a school in Eilat in southern Israel – Willy Moreau and Laurent Macchietti