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Israel intercepts Houthi missile as sirens wail across central Israel.
No reports of injuries due to falling fragments, though woman in serious condition after falling while running to shelter; Houthis say attacks will continue until Gaza war ends.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired another ballistic missile at Israel early Tuesday morning, triggering sirens across the center of the country as well as in southern Israel, for the third time in less than a week.
The Israel Defense Forces said it managed to intercept the missile before it entered Israeli airspace.
According to a military source, the projectile was shot down using the long-range Arrow air defense system, which is designed to take out ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere.
Sirens were triggered across central Israel — between Herzliya and Ashdod — as well as in several towns east of Beersheba, as a precaution due to the possibility of fragments landing inside Israeli territory following the interception, the military said.
The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said it did not receive any reports of injuries due to fallen missile or interceptor fragments.
However, a 60-year-old woman fell while running to a shelter in Tel Aviv and was taken to the city’s Ichilov Hospital in serious condition, MDA said.
At least 25 people were treated for minor injuries after falling while running to the shelter or due to anxiety attacks caused by the missile sirens, MDA added.
Shortly after the launch, senior Houthi official Hezam al-Asad tweeted that such attacks would continue “until the aggression against our people in Gaza stops.”
טיל שוגר מתימן, התרעות הופעלו באזורי השרון, המרכז, השפלה וערד >>> https://t.co/avi1m4dXlt@Itsik_zuarets @ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/eMrr8wmo69
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 23, 2024
Hezbollah made similar pledges to continue firing rockets and drones at Israel until a ceasefire was reached in Gaza but caved last month after two months of Israeli attacks that decimated the Lebanese terror group’s capabilities.
Hours earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching drones at Israel on Monday afternoon.
The IDF said that the air force shot down one drone outside of Israeli airspace.
The Houthis claimed to have launched two drones, at targets in Ashkelon and the Tel Aviv area. There were no reports of impacts in either city on Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Israel would act against the Houthis in Yemen with the same force it used against Iran’s other “terrorist arms,” appearing to indicate the start of a stepped-up campaign against the Islamic Republic’s proxy group after a ballistic missile crashed into a Tel Aviv playground overnight Friday.
On Thursday, a multistory school building in Ramat Gan collapsed after it was hit by the warhead from a partially intercepted ballistic missile fired at Israel by Houthi rebels.
????Sirens sounding across central and southern Israel following a projectile launched from Yemen???? pic.twitter.com/X0nnsDASGR
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 23, 2024
Israel and the US have carried out strikes against Houthi targets throughout Yemen in recent days but they don’t seem to have deterred the rebel group.
Senior opposition politician Benny Gantz argued Monday that Israel “must target Iran directly” over the attacks.
Israel’s security establishment apparently agrees with Gantz, with Channel 12 reporting Sunday that the question of tackling Iran — a possible reference both to efforts to deter the Houthis and to target Iran’s nuclear facilities — has come up repeatedly in security cabinet meetings, even as the focus has been on finding ways to counter the upsurge in Houthi attacks.
The Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year. According to the IDF, the vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and Israeli allies in the region.
Israel has carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets only three times in response to the group’s attacks, the latest on Thursday.
The Iran-backed group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping.
Times of Israel