The Israel-Egypt border – Photo: AFP

The National Security Council’s Counterterrorism Bureau reiterated its standing travel advisory on Monday, warning Israelis against visiting Sinai and urging anyone who is currently there to leave the area immediately.

According to Israel Radio, the Counterterrorism Bureau cited an “imminent threat” to Israelis in the area, saying it had concrete information to that effect.

The Foreign Ministry issued a similar travel advisory. Both warnings stated the threat level was “very high.”

The precarious security situation in Sinai has deteriorated in recent weeks leading up to the ousting of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, although the military operation against the terror infrastructure in Sinai, which was launched just days prior to Morsi’s removal from power, is still ongoing despite the political turmoil sweeping through the country.

Israel Radio quoted an Egyptian military source as saying that 10 smuggling tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip have been destroyed in the past week as part of an extensive operation targeting global jihad operatives in the area.

The Egyptian official said that since the operation was launched, more than 40 smuggling tunnels connecting Egyptian Rafah to the Gaza Strip have been destroyed.

The violence that erupted in several major cities in Egypt following the military coup that deposed Morsi has also resulted in series of attacks on security checkpoints in Sinai. The latest attack, which took place on Sunday, saw a terror cell raid a security post in el-Arish, killing one Egyptian officer and wounding another.

Also on Sunday, terrorists blew up the gas pipeline between Egypt and Jordan. The pipeline has been attack 15 times since the onset of the Arab Spring in Egypt and the removal of President Hosni Mubarak from power.

View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=10539