An Al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility for a rocket that was fired from Sinai toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat early on Tuesday, calling it retaliation for the killing of four guerrillas in Sinai on Friday.

The Magles Shoura al-Mujahideen, a hardline Islamist faction which also has a small presence in the Gaza Strip, said its fighters fired the rocket at 1 A.M. local time.

The rocket was intercepted by an Iron Dome anti-missile battery, marking the first time the system has intercepted a rocket over the southern resort city. No damage or casualties were caused.

"In a swift response to the latest crime of the Jews that killed four Mujahideen in the land of Sinai through a strike by a pilotless plane, the lions of Maglis Shoura al-Mujahideen ... were able to strike the occupied city of Om al-Rashash 'Eilat' with a rocket," it said in a statement published online.

The attack comes two days after Egyptian reports of an Israeli drone strike that killed several militants at a rocket-launching site in northern Sinai.

"We assure that neither Eilat nor any other Israeli cities will be blessed with security, tourism or economy," it added.

The southern resort city's mayor said there had been no panic.

"I think the military prepared in the best possible way with an enhanced defensive shield to protect Eilat and tourists including the [Iron Dome] battery... I and my citizens feel secure," Meir Yitzhak-Halevy told Army Radio.