The Israel Defense Force said it successfully intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen on Saturday morning, in the fourth attack by Houthi rebels this week. There were no reports of injuries or major damage.
The attack triggered sirens across a wide swath of central Israel and the Jerusalem area and sent millions running to bomb shelters.
The attack came hours after Israel’s government approved a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza, set to take effect Sunday. Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houth had said Thursday that the Iran-backed group would continue “to provide military support to the Palestinian people” if Israel does not comply with the ceasefire.
The Israel Police said it debris and shrapnel from Saturday’s intercepted missile fell in the Jerusalem area. Fragments fell in an open area near Beitar Ilit, Moshav Bar Giora and near a gas station next to Mevo Beitar, where earlier this week a large chunk of a Houthi missile fell on a house.
Police said it was searching for further debris. It urged the public not to touch the fragments and said sappers were working at the scene to remove them.
The Ynet news site reported that during the sirens, a Royal Jordanian flight, from Amman over Israel to Chicago, was ordered to steer clear of Israeli airspace, and a FlyDubai flight to Dubai stayed on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv.
A Houthi fighter carries a rifle as Yemenis hold a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, January 17, 2025. (Mohammed Huwais / AFP)
Over the past week, Israel intercepted three Houthi attacks: a drone on Monday morning, and two missiles on Monday evening and early Tuesday morning.
The attacks came after Israel last Friday struck Houthi ports and a power plant in Yemen.
The Houthis — whose slogans call for “death to Israel” and “a curse upon the Jews” — have launched more than 40 ballistic missiles and some 320 drones at Israel since they started attacking the country in 2023, in support of fellow terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip amid the war.
In the vast majority of the Houthis’ attacks, the missiles have been intercepted by Israeli air defenses, or have fallen short before reaching the country. However, a few drones and missiles have hit sites, causing casualties and damage.
In December, 16 people were wounded in Tel Aviv in one of their drone attacks on Israel, and in July a a drone there killed a person and wounded several others.
Workers walk through the rubble of a destroyed school building in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on December 19, 2024, after the campus was hit by a Houthi missile fired from Yemen. (Jack Guez / AFP)
Israel and Western allies carried out several sorties against Houthi targets in Yemen, but they have failed to stem the attacks.
The Yemeni rebels have also been firing at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — destabilizing a vital shipping lane and prompting reprisal strikes by the United States and sometimes Britain against Houthi targets.
They have pledged to continue the attacks until there is a ceasefire in Gaza. The war in Gaza was sparked when fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel by the thousands on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
AFP contributed to this report.
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