4.3 magnitude earthquake shakes southern Israel

(JNS)—A 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit Israel’s south on Sunday morning, according to the Geophysical Institute of Israel.

According to the institute, the earthquake epicenter was around 62 miles south of Eilat in an area known as the Great Rift Valley—the edge of a tectonic plate in Israel that runs parallel to the Jordan River.

Various residents of Eilat, as quoted by Ynet, were shaken awake by the tremblor, which hit just after 5 a.m.

“Storms, coronavirus and now earthquake, what else? The 10 plagues? God save us,” said Eilat resident Galit Adler Malka, according to the report.

Zehava Attia, another Eilat resident, said that she woke up as her bed began to shake. “I did not understand what happened but my heart was pounding,” she said.

Though recent earthquakes in Israel have not been strong, Dr. Ron Avni of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev warned that they show that the Great Rift Valley is active and could cause great damage in Israel in the foreseeable future, according to Ynet.