The resort area near the Red Sea has been the site of several diplomatic meetings between Israel and various Arab countries, including the shaky February cease-fire accord with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

More than 10,000 Israelis were in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, despite warnings from intelligence officials that the risk of terrorist attacks is very high. More than 3,000 returned Saturday after the terrorist attacks, but another 1,000 crossed into Egypt from Israel despite the bombings.

Two car bombs exploded at 1:15 a.m. and ripped through the Ghazala Gardens and Movenpick Hotels in Naama Bay, and a third bomb exploded at a coffee shop in Sharm el-Sheikh, four kilometers (2.5 miles) away, killing European and Egyptian tourists.

Several of the injured were in critical condition. The dead include tourists from England, Russia, the Netherlands and Arab countries.

A website associated with Al-Qaeda declared that the attacks were carried out against "Crusaders, Zionists and the renegade Egyptian regime.”