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JERUSALEM, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military ordered the airport in Eilat, a Red Sea resort, to cease operations Thursday evening following a security assessment, Israeli media reported.
However, the airport resumed routine operations hours later, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.
"Civilian airports are managed in coordination with the Israel Air Force and the Israel Airports Authority in accordance with security assessments," a military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv told Xinhua. She would not say whether the airport was closed due to a specific threat.
The order to close the airport came as the Egyptian military on Thursday continued a wide-scale operation to root out militants in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula, where attacks on Egyptian military outposts and personnel have intensified since the removal of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.
Eight commercial flights heading to Eilat, a popular tourist resort, were to be rerouted to the Ovda Airport, some 80 km further north, Ha'aretz reported on its website. The Eilat airport, however, was to remain open for departing flights, Israeli Radio said.
Egypt's army reported on Wednesday that it had killed 60 Sinai militants since deposing Morsi and installing a new government.
Tourists from Israel and abroad swarm Eilat this time of year, with direct flights from Russia and a host of European cities landing in the city daily, and hoteliers currently reporting 100 percent-occupancy rates.
The Israeli military recently deployed the Iron Dome short- range missile interceptor in Eilat, to defend the city against possible rocket strikes from Sinai.
A rocket fired from Sinai struck an open area near Eilat a few days after Morsi's ouster, while two rockets hit the city in April. No casualties or damage were reported in either strike.
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