Three explosions ripped through resorts on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 35 Israelis and injuring another 160 people.

The first blast hit the Hilton hotel in Egypt's Taba resort at about 10 p.m. local time. The hotel was packed with Israelis on vacation at the end of the Jewish holiday Sukkot.

Two other blasts were reported in the Egyptian resorts of Nuweiba and Ras Shitan, dozens of kilometres southwest of Taba.

Israeli security officials have suggested the Taba blast was the result of a car bomb. However, Egyptian officials said they have no evidence of terrorism.

Witnesses are reportedly saying that car bombs were used at all three tourist sites.

About 12,000 Israelis were spending the Jewish holiday along the Sinai Peninsula, despite a security alert issued on Sept. 9 by the Israeli government. The warning urged citizens not to visit Egypt, and specifically mentioned the Sinai Peninsula, where Taba is located, as a possible target.

"Recently a concrete possibility has emerged that terrorists will try to attack tourist centers in Egypt, especially the Sinai," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its Web site.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blasts.

The explosions come in the midst of a huge Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, that has left dozens of Palestinians dead and many more calling for revenge.

Chaos at the resort

The blast in Taba caused part of the Hilton hotel to collapse. "There are dozens of people on the floor, lots of blood. It is very tense,'' witness Yigal Vakni told Army Radio.

Others were reportedly trapped in the debris.

The hotel explosion occurred among gas tanks in the kitchen of the hotel, Egyptian security officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The kitchen is next to the casino.

Taba is frequented by Israelis who travel to resorts and hotels on the Red Sea. Thursday was the last day of the Jewish holiday Sukkot, when thousands of Israelis vacation in the Sinai.

Dozens of the wounded were rushed to the border, where ambulances were waiting to evacuate them to a hospital in Eilat. Ambulances were also allowed to cross into Taba.

Israeli security experts suggest that the explosions may be the work of al Qaeda terrorists. Israelis have been such targets before. In 2002, an al Qaeda operative was blamed for a bombing at a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya that killed at least 15 Israeli tourists.

Egyptian officials are shying away from that connection now. But they have declared the area a closed military zone, and they are already making arrests.

Israel captured Sinai in the 1967 Middle East war. It was returned to Egypt after a 1979 peace deal.

With reports from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer and The Associated Press