An Egyptian intel tip-off briefly closed Eilat airport Thursday

Intelligence suggesting terrorists planned to fire missiles Friday at Israel as well as locations in northern Sinai and the Suez Canal was passed by Egypt to Israel,  an Egyptian security official told The Associated Press.  Israel reacted by closing Eilat airport for two hours Thursday night. He also said that Egyptian authorities planned to start air patrols Thursday night over the Naqab desert in the Egyptian Sinai, where Islamist terrorists have hideouts. Eilat has come under rocket fire from Sinai in the past. Egyptian airports in the Sinai operated normally into Thursday night despite the warning, including those in the resort cities of Sharm el-Sheikh and Taba, said Gad el-Karim Nasr, the head of state-owned Egyptian Airports Co. Taba is only 10 kilometers from Eilat.