Luxor4u

The following article appeared in the Daily Mail Online today and the content is repeated in other UK papers and has been mentioned on UK TV. It's also receiving a lot of attention on social media.


Tourists are warned to leave Sharm el-Sheikh and other Egyptian Red Sea resorts IMMEDIATELY over fears of an imminent ISIS attack

Israel's counter-terrorism bureau warns citizens to leave Red Sea resorts

Officials warn of imminent ISIS attack as spokesman says 'we're not crying wolf'

There are thought to be hundreds of Israelis currently in the region, while thousands more are due to fly there for Passover next month

Israel has warned citizens to immediately leave Egypt's Red Sea resorts and cancel all future travel plans over fears of an ISIS attack.

The country's counter-terrorism bureau said there is a 'serious and current threat' of a terror attack targeting the region, and in particular Israeli tourists.

The Red Sea region includes the tourist destinations of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Marsa Alam and Luxor, which are popular with British holidaymakers.

Israeli tourists in the Red Sea region have been told to leave immediately and those planning to go have been told to cancel plans over fears of an imminent ISIS terror attack

Eitan Ben-David, the head of Israel's counter-terror bureau, told The Telegraph: 'We don't want to cry wolf, wolf. We really believe that the threat is serious.'

There are thought to be hundreds of Israelis currently in the region, known as south Sinai, though thousands more are likely to travel there during next month's Passover festival.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -fear.html

The warning appears to be genuine but is possibly directed primarily at Israeli citizens. Without access to the Israeli intelligence it's difficult to say, and the reference to "citizens" is ambiguous.

There has been no change in the UK travel advice to date and the reference to British holidaymakers may be a bit of window dressing by Daily Mail

There is speculation that it may be an attempt by ISIS to spook people generally or, more Machiavellian, an attempt by Israel to curb the increasing numbers of Israelis heading for Egypt and "re-direct" them to home resorts such as Eilat.

Interesting to see Luxor named as part of the Red Sea....but that's the Daily Mail for you.

The government UK in Egypt page:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt

Summary

Still current at:30 March 2017Updated:26 March 2017Latest update:
Summary – there’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation; the UK government has implemented additional security measures in several countries, including Egypt; direct flights continue to depart to the UK from Egypt (except from Sharm el Sheikh); you should co-operate fully with security officials; information and advice about how this may affect your flight, including if you’re transiting through Egypt on the way to the UK

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to:

the Governorate of North Sinai due to the significant increase in criminal activity and continued terrorist attacks on police and security forces that have resulted in deaths
The FCO advise against all but essential travel to:

the Governorate of South Sinai, with the exception of the area within the Sharm el Sheikh perimeter barrier, which includes the airport and the areas of Sharm el Maya, Hadaba, Naama Bay, Sharks Bay and Nabq; however, we advise against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el Sheikh;
the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions, excluding the coastal areas between the Nile Delta and Marsa Matruh (as shown on the map).
There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. The UK government has implemented additional security measures, including Egypt. Direct flights continue to depart to the UK from Egypt (except from Sharm el Sheikh). You should co-operate fully with security officials. For more information about how this may affect your flight, including if you’re transiting through Egypt on the way to the UK, read this guidance page and contact your airline or travel company if you have further questions.

The tourist areas along the Nile river (including Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings) and the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada aren’t included in the areas to which the FCO advise against all but essential travel.

That's another tourist fan out of commission then, due to a heavy coating of the brown stuff.

Since when was Luxor a "Red Sea Resort". More idiot copy writers who don't have a clue about where places are in Egypt!

BBLUX wrote:Since when was Luxor a "Red Sea Resort". More idiot copy writers who don't have a clue about where places are in Egypt!

Maybe that's how Luxor should be marketed

"World's Biggest Open-Air Museum by the Sea !!"

Of course the visitors might be a tad disappointed when they arrived with their buckets & spades....but you could say it was a freak low tide

BBLUX wrote:Since when was Luxor a "Red Sea Resort". More idiot copy writers who don't have a clue about where places are in Egypt!

Maybe that's how Luxor should be marketed

"World's Biggest Open-Air Museum by the Sea !!"

Of course the visitors might be a tad disappointed when they arrived with their buckets & spades....but you could say it was a freak low tide

That is not far from the truth. I can remember someone posting a question on how close the beach was to their Luxor hotel some years ago. Admittedly that was also down to an idiot copy writer in a travel brochure

Im not suggesting everyone should don a concrete coat and batten down the hatches but regardless of what anyone may think about Israel and its policies, if this story is accurate i would not dismiss this warning completely.

Israel has one of the best intelligence services in the world (it has to have).

Zooropa wrote:Im not suggesting everyone should don a concrete coat and batten down the hatches but regardless of what anyone may think about Israel and its policies, if this story is accurate i would not dismiss this warning completely.

Israel has one of the best intelligence services in the world (it has to have).

Nor would I....I think the warning is genuine (despite some conspiracy theorists who swear it was a tactic to keep Israelis in Eilat).

But I think ISIS are more likely to be looking for their targets in Sinai. I wouldn't advise visiting Sharm at the moment.