By Ilana Curiel

Copyright ynetnews

A week after a drone hit the entrance to the Jacob Hotel in Eilat, another explosion on Wednesday near Hayam Mall underscored how the southern resort city has become a frontline target. At least 20 people were wounded, many by shrapnel. Two were airlifted in serious condition to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, one was moderately hurt and the rest were treated for minor injuries at Yoseftal Medical Center in Eilat. Since the start of the Iron Swords War, about 300 drones have been launched toward Eilat. Ten managed to penetrate air defenses and crash in civilian areas. While strikes were initially considered rare, the situation has shifted in recent weeks: one drone struck Ramon Airport, another the entrance of a city hotel and now the heart of the tourist district, surrounded by hotels, shops and pubs. No alert sounded at Ramon Airport, echoing a 2023 incident when a school building in Eilat was hit during a drone strike but children at an afterschool program were unharmed. The city has just 87 public bomb shelters, only half of them accessible, while the rest are fitted with remote-controlled locks. Eilat’s official population is about 58,000, though the Interior Ministry registers roughly 71,000 residents. Tens of thousands of daily visitors and roughly 3 million annual tourists add to the pressure, generating 7.5 million hotel stays each year — not including hostels and short-term rentals like Airbnb. Mayor Eli Lankri said the strike at Ramon Airport “ended in a miracle, without casualties. This time, the alert was activated and people reached shelters, but the interception failed.” He demanded a probe into the first two incidents. According to the 80th Division commander, the failures stemmed from human error rather than technical malfunction. The Air Force chief stressed that the Houthis possess no new capabilities unknown to Israel, but promised a thorough investigation. “If the defense systems need reinforcement, it will happen — and quickly. It’s already happening,” Lankri said. Still, he urged residents to resume normal life. “The enemy seeks to disrupt us, spread fear and damage us economically and psychologically. We cannot allow that. But these incidents must concern us. We have to investigate thoroughly.” At Yoseftal, with only 65 inpatient beds and 20 emergency beds, staff treated 48 casualties — two serious, one moderate, the rest minor. “In mass-casualty events, we divide the hospital into zones based on injury severity,” explained Dr. Daher Agbaria, head of the emergency department. Most patients were lightly wounded and moved to an improvised treatment area near the hospital cafeteria, staffed by four to five doctors and nurses. Agbaria said Yoseftal had prepared in advance. “We ran drills and can handle up to 250 patients in a mega mass-casualty scenario. We’ve trained with the army, security forces and HMOs since the start of the war.” The ER normally runs with five doctors and five nurses, but reinforcements arrived within minutes, including two anesthesiologists from Soroka Hospital who were in Eilat. Some departments are already reinforced, including surgery, and a new fortified building for maternity, inpatient and dialysis care is under construction, due for completion in 2028. Still, Lankri acknowledged deep concerns. “God help us if there’s a mass-casualty event. If the strike had been worse, the hospital could not have handled it. Even in normal times, services are lacking. Eilat has the weakest medical system in Israel, and it’s time to fix it. The hospital performed well and evacuated the seriously injured quickly, but the gap compared to the rest of the country is unacceptable.” Alongside security concerns, Eilat residents and business owners are grappling with economic and psychological impacts from recent drone strikes. Thomas Levy, owner of the Bardak bar, which sustained damage, said, “We just finished renovations a week and a half ago, waiting for the peak holiday season. Property tax processing here is very slow. They treat this as a small town and think we’ll manage. It’s frustrating. There aren’t many service providers, and our appraisers differ from those of the tax office.” Levy added, “We’re right before Sukkot with high uncertainty, after two and a half years of economic decline in this city. It feels like we don’t matter. The luck is that the drone hit before the holiday, or it would have been a catastrophe.” Arnon Bar Adon, owner of a damaged pizzeria, said, “There really isn’t a proper shelter. During the holiday, this area is packed, and if it had happened then, there would have been many more injuries. Still, people have returned to normal life. Residents whose homes were damaged elsewhere in the country came down to Eilat. It’s still a city of refuge.” The tourism sector, meanwhile, reports stability and even growth. Itamar Elitzur, CEO of the Eilat Hotels Association, said the city was full of families even midweek in September — a phenomenon unseen in years. “Over Rosh Hashanah, occupancy exceeded 90%,” he said. “I’m confident no drone will bypass Eilat’s air defenses anytime soon. Hotel systems are well-trained and disciplined, and operations return to normal quickly. Israelis continue to come in large numbers. The city has proven resilient — both during COVID-19 and at the start of the war.” Elitzur noted that since 2019, Eilat has no international tourism all visitors are Israelis. Ahead of Yom Kippur, bookings are rising compared with previous years. “Not all hotels are open, but those that are see 85%-90% occupancy. There hasn’t been a trend of cancellations — Israelis are resilient.” Lior Raviv, CEO of Isrotel, added, “Those already in the city are less affected. It happened, and it’s over. No one left our hotels. Regarding future bookings, there were questions this morning, mainly about shelter availability. Now, all our guests are Israelis — resilient, not easily shaken. Nothing will disrupt normal life.” Itzik Aflalo, manager of ADAM Hotels, said, “This is the first time we’ve had so many injured. Last week, the drone strike caused no injuries. Things returned to normal quickly. The first two hours were chaotic, but there are no cancellations for Sukkot. Hotels are full. It’s not the same quiet Eilat, but we are prepared for any scenario.” Aflalo, a city resident, added, “It’s unsettling that this happened in Israel’s top tourist city. People in the water saw the drone cross and enter the city. You see fear in people’s eyes. Residents are more cautious, going out less, but life continues. My kids returned to school. We cannot let this disrupt our lives.” One injured resident, Hannah Gamersni from Kiryat Gat, told Ynet, “I was sitting outside when the siren went off. I went to the hotel and slipped after the explosion. My husband was with me. I didn’t know where to go. I was in shock, anxious.” Hagit, another resident, described the fear: “Yesterday I had a panic attack. We ran from the store to a shelter. I saw the explosion above me. Some people in the mall had panic attacks. There’s no proper shelter — two mothers with infants were placed in a storage room. We watched the drones — they aim for tourist areas, and I think they don’t sound alarms to avoid harming tourism. Eilat is not ready for war. A whole neighborhood had to share a shelter during a conflict with Iran. There is no sense of security rather, it feels like our safety is being gambled with.” The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel also warned of environmental risks. “It’s only by chance that a larger disaster didn’t occur. The drone could have hit oil infrastructure in Eilat. Despite the risk, the company continues to pressure for expanded oil transport and storage. It’s frightening to think of the potential security and environmental disaster if an oil tanker had been hit.”