Popular Israel resort hit by rocket

A rocket attack has been launched on an Israeli resort popular with Britons and the venue for the European Triathlon Championships later this month.

No one was hurt in the attack on Eilat on the Red Sea, with the rocket believed to have been launched from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Many overseas tourists are already in Eilat and the resort is due to welcome more than 4,000 athletes for the triathlon event which will begin on April 19.

Competitors, including some from the UK, will take part in a gruelling cycle-swim-run event.

Eilat's mayor Meir Yitzhak-Halevy said the resort would carry on as normal, adding that the city of Eilat had already been on high alert because of the forthcoming Passover holiday.

With its year-round sunshine, Eilat has long been a favourite destination for UK visitors, particularly during UK winters.

Eilat's attraction as a tourist centre could soon be further enhanced. An unidentified individual has offered to buy around 5,500 Titanic artefacts and display them in Eilat.

They include maps of the disaster area, photos of the wreck on the bottom of the ocean, and 1,000 hours of video footage documenting the seven diving expeditions held at the site since 1987.

Eilat has generally escaped terrorist attacks in Israel in recent years. But in 2010, a rocket attack on Eilat and the nearby Jordanian town of Aqaba killed a Jordanian and injured four people.

Last August, eight people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of attacks on Israeli targets about 12 miles north of Eilat.