JERUSALEM — At least one rocket fired from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt struck the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat overnight, causing alarm but no injuries, police officials said on Thursday.

Residents reported hearing several explosions shortly after midnight, and bomb-disposal experts located one rocket that fell in an open area close to buildings in a residential neighborhood.

Israeli security officials have been warning for some time about a growing threat from Sinai. They point to an erosion of Egyptian authority there, particularly in the year since the Egyptian revolution. They also cite increased efforts by Palestinian militant groups emanating from Gaza, as well as global jihadi cells, to use the vast expanses of desert as a staging ground for a new front against Israel. The rocket attack came just before the Passover holiday, traditionally one of the busiest seasons in Eilat, which is popular with Israeli and foreign tourists.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Sinai Peninsula “has become a terrorism zone.”