ISIS has again threatened to attack Israel from Egypt. The IDF is taking the threat seriously and preparing for any developments.

A video purportedly made by Egypt’s Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate has delivered a rare direct threat to Israel, saying the Jewish state will soon “pay a high price.”

Egypt’s branch of the Islamic State group is spearheading an insurgency in northern Sinai that had simmered for years but grew stronger and deadlier after the military’s 2013 ouster of Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist president.

The narrator of the 35-minute video released this week threatens Israel’s Jewish population, saying “your account with us has become weighty and you will soon pay a high price.” The authenticity of the footage could not immediately be verified, though its contents and production style mirrored previous ISIS propaganda material.

ISIS, which controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, seldom mentions Israel in its propaganda material. However, this latest threat is not the first time they have done so, and have issued similar threats from Egypt in the past.

The video also included footage depicting the killing with a single bullet to the head of two Egyptian policemen in Sinai.

Military officials with firsthand knowledge of the fighting in Sinai said the latest ISIS video was a little more than a compilation of old footage depicting attacks on the Egyptian army and police in Sinai. However, the video, which shows roadside bomb attacks, gun battles and sniper fire, offers a glimpse of the scale of fighting there.

The latest ISIS video, entitled “Flames of the Desert,” shows the faces of ISIS fighters killed by Egyptian troops. The military officials say the terrorist group edited out the fierce counter-attacks launched by Egypt’s military following the attacks.

One example, they said, was the part of the footage showing terrorists firing at an Apache gunship while triumphantly screaming Allahu Akbar, God is great in Arabic. The aircraft was not hit, and later gunned down and killed most of the terrorists.

ISIS Sets its Sights on Israel

In June, US Special Envoy to the US-led international coalition fighting ISIS, Brett McGurk, said that ISIS is focusing on Israel as a target.

“ISIL’s [Islamic State] media statements in recent months, as they suffer losses on the battlefield, have focused on Israel as a target, clearly hoping to generate international headlines to compensate for its defeats. We must not allow this to happen,” McGurk said in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Israel has dramatically bolstered security on its border with Egypt as result of ISIS’ buildup. Increased ISIS presence and activity in the Sinai Peninsula is perceived by Israel’s security establishment as a mounting threat. ISIS terrorists have already launched attacks against civilian targets in southern Israel.

Israel has prepared for a wide variety of ISIS attack scenarios, and most recently held a two-day drill large-scale naval drill in the southern city of Eilat which simulated a multiple-pronged ISIS attack on the city, including the hijacking of a civilian vessel.

By: AP and United with Israel Staff