Israeli army officials said the army decided to change the fighters and civil planes' course, to stop them from flying over Egyptian borders as a precaution against launching anti-aircraft rockets by hostile elements in Sinai. Officials said they reached this decision after being aware of huge amounts of weapons stolen from former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi's storages, which some arrived at Sinai. The officials said the anti-aircraft weapons made their way to Gaza Strip and instructions were issued for Air Force fighters to be aware of this fact while flying over Gaza Strip. Military officials said the fear developed from the possibility of another operation taking place, such as the operation that took place in Eilat last August when eight Israelis were killed. They also said in cases planes have to fly over Egyptian borders, nothing will stop them at whatever cost. It should be noted the Israeli army intensified its land forces within the Egyptian borders after the Eilat operation where eight Israelis were killed and 30 were wounded.
