By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Oct 08, 2004
Explosions ripped through two Sinai Peninsula resorts frequented by Israeli tourists Thursday night, leaving at least 30 people dead and more than 150 others wounded.
In the more devastating of the two attacks, a massive 200-kilogram car bomb was driven into the Hilton Hotel in the town of Taba, just south of the border from Eilat.
The explosion caused an entire wing of the hotel to collapse.
Several hours later, two more explosions were reported near the popular Sinai destination of Neuiba.
As of Friday afternoon, Ynet was reporting 19 Israelis had been killed in the attacks, with more than 30 still missing.
Overnight Thursday and throughout the day Friday, Israeli rescue crews streamed through the border to assist the often-disoriented Egyptians in dealing with the massacre.
The chief of Eilat’s firefighters told Ma’ariv he believed many people were still buried under the rubble of the Hitlon, and that rescue operations would continue well into the weekend.
Israeli buses, helicopters and planes were sent into Sinai to help evacuate the 15,000 Israelis vacationing there, after Cairo declared the peninsula a closed military zone.
A little known Islamic group associated with Al Qaeda claimed credit for the bombings.