A terrorist bomb rocked a shopping area in the Izidor neighborhood of Eilat Monday morning killing at least three.
Palestinian terror organizations Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, an arm of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, and Islamic Jihad have claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
Officials from the Eilat Police Department confirmed that a suicide bomber infiltrated the area and detonated explosives nearby a local bakery.
Residents of the neighborhood reported a violent blast that shook the windows of nearby buildings. Many reported seeing smoke rising from the area of the attack.
The Israeli emergency service, Magon David Adom (MDA), responded to the blast which reportedly caused the two civilian deaths. The victims have not been identified.
The target of the attack, the Izidor area of Eilat, is known as a local neighborhood that rarely attracts sightseers or foreigners in a city whose main industry is tourism.
Witnesses and residents of the neighborhood spoke of a bloody scene strewn with human body parts.
The bombing is reported to be the first suicide bombing in the Red Sea city of Eilat. The Israeli government has taken steps to elevate the alert level of the country.
Today's attack is the first in many months and comes only weeks after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert eased travel restrictions and eliminated a number of security checkpoints to terror-riddled Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and the Gaza Strip.
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