‘Next Oct 7-style attack could hit Eilat’: Shin Bet Chief Zini sounds alarm over threats to Israel’s resort town

The next large-scale ground invasion targeting an Israeli population center could happen in Eilat, Israel’s port and resort town on the far southern tip of the country.

The Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency tasked with thwarting terror attacks in the country, is monitoring these threats to the Eilat area, its new director, David Zini, revealed in closed-door discussions, according to several security sources cited by the Haaretz newspaper.

Eilat has been relatively untouched by terror attacks and the wars in recent years, except for sporadic attacks by the Houthi terrorists in Yemen – who could aim to repeat Hamas’s initial success on Oct. 7 through their own ground invasion from Jordan, Zini reportedly believes.

There is currently no concrete intelligence indicating preparations for such an operation; however, Zini is said to have instructed senior officers to prioritize preparations for potential attack scenarios, which has reportedly raised skepticism about the weight assigned to these threats.

Doron Kadosh, Army Radio’s military correspondent, explained that the geographic location of the city could make it a prime target for an attack.

“Eilat is the most distant and disconnected city in Israel. It’s clear that if, God forbid, there is an incident in Eilat, to rush forces there, you can already understand how long it would take, because you saw how long it took forces to get to the Gaza envelope, an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv,” he said during a broadcast on Tuesday.

According to Haaretz, Zini laid out his concerns to local security personnel during a discreet visit to Eilat several weeks ago, explaining that an invasion could be carried out by multiple terror groups, including the Houthis.

While Yemen’s physical distance of over 2,000 kilometers (about 1,243 miles) from Israel might make it a somewhat surprising candidate for a ground invasion, a key fact makes this a concrete threat.

Most countries in the Middle East restrict Yemeni planes from conducting direct flights to their airports, with the notable exception of Israel’s eastern neighbor – the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Army Radio reported that Israel’s intelligence agencies are closely monitoring the landings of the Houthi-controlled airline Yemenia Airways at airports in Jordan’s capital of Amman, as well as Aqaba, which lies opposite the border, just a stone’s throw from Eilat.

This direct access could be exploited by the Houthis to establish an infrastructure that could be used for terror attacks in the future. The threat is further exacerbated by the already tense security situation along the eastern border, where the IDF has been stepping up efforts to shut down the rampant weapons smuggling.

The report added that the small towns and kibbutzim along the border, north of Eilat, could potentially also become targets of a ground incursion.

Hanan Ginat, head of the regional council governing communities around Eilat, told Haaretz that “It is clear to us that the eastern border region is currently the most sensitive border area in the country.”

“Even today, the Jordanian border in the southern Arava serves as a route for constant criminal smuggling. Our concern is that this criminal corridor could become a route through which terrorist cells attempt to infiltrate Israel and attack our communities.”

And while there is no concrete intelligence, the report also highlighted several videos published by the Houthis of their forces drilling the capture of IDF outposts – reminiscent of similar videos published by Hamas prior to the invasion.

Another facet of the concern about Eilat comes from a different issue – the increasing number of Arab Israelis moving to the town. Zini even warned a cabinet meeting that there was “an attempt by Arabs to take over Eilat,” Haaretz reported several months ago.

Local police officials confirmed the trend and are aware of the Shin Bet’s concerns, though a senior official told Haaretz that “that's a matter of perspective… At this stage, we do not identify any security concern here.”

However, police sources confirmed that organized crime groups have increasingly entered the town, in a development that could potentially be connected to the Shin Bet’s warning. The IDF has repeatedly warned of the increasing connections between crime groups, which are mostly dominated by Arabs, and terror groups in other areas of the country.