A drone launched by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels set off sirens in several locations in southern Israel on Friday before it was shot down by the Israeli Air Force after several failed attempts, the military said.
There were no reports of damage or injuries in the incident.
The drone set off sirens in several communities near the borders with the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The military said it made several attempts to shoot it down before successfully intercepting it.
The incident is the latest attempt by the Houthis to attack Israel.
On Sunday, they fired a ballistic missile, claiming to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport.
The missile set off sirens in central Israel and the Jerusalem area, forcing millions of Israelis to seek cover before it was shot down without causing injury or damage.
Footage shows the moment a Houthi drone launched from Yemen was shot down over southern Israel by the Israeli Air Force. pic.twitter.com/oVAwNQObHp
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 22, 2025
The missile fire came hours after the Israeli Navy launched strikes against a power plant south of Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
The Houthis held their fire during a ceasefire that was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By that point, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of attack drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 70 ballistic missiles and at least 23 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.
Is The Times of Israel important to you?
If so, we have a request.
Every day, even during war, our journalists keep you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fast, fair and free coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So today, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Yes, I’ll give
Yes, I’ll give
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘272776440645465’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
