JERUSALEM, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Saturday strongly condemned the Friday deadly attack on a mosque in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which claimed the lives of at least 305 people.
A statement released by Israeli Prime Minister's Office denounced "the horrific and criminal terrorist attack" on the El-Rawda mosque near El-Arish, a city in northern Sinai, close to Egypt's border with Israel.
The statement said it wished to send "condolences on behalf of the people of Israel to President al-Sisi, the Egyptian people and the families of the victims."
"Terrorism will be defeated even more quickly if all countries work against it together," the statement read.
Tel Aviv, Israel's financial capital, mourned the victims by lighting up the city hall building with the Egyptian flag.
"A horrific attack in #Egypt. We send our condolences to our friends across the border and light the Municipality building in their honor," Mayor Ron Huldai said in his Tweeter account, along with a photo of the building.
The attack came as Israel and Egypt marked 40 years to the historic visit of former Egyptian President Anuar Sadat to Israel, which led to the signing of the peace agreement between the two countries two years later.
At noon on Friday, some 25 to 30 assailants bombed and opened fire at the mosque, killing 305 worshippers, including 27 children, and wounding 128 others, according to Egyptian authorities.
It was the first terrorist operation to target a Muslim mosque in Egypt's modern history.
Terror attacks started to rise in Egypt following the military ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Since then, most of the attacks have focused on restive North Sinai, killing hundreds of policemen and soldiers, before they later started to extend to other provinces and target the Coptic minority in their churches.
