Houthi militia in Yemen fires ballistic missile at Israel

Parts of a rocket fired by the Houthi rebels hit several places in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu then threatened that the attackers could not escape Israel’s “fist”.

The Houthi militia in Yemen has fired a ballistic missile at Israel. It covered a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers in eleven minutes, said Houthi military spokesman Jahja Sari in a televised speech. Israel should prepare for “more attacks,” he warned. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a tough response after the rocket attack. “Anyone who attacks us will not escape our fist,” he said.

Israel’s army said the surface-to-surface missile had apparently broken up in the air and landed in an open area. Warning sirens had sounded in the center of the country early in the morning. Several attempts were made to intercept the missile using the Arrow and Iron Dome defense systems, it said. A military representative said an initial investigation had shown that the missile had been hit by a defense missile and thus fragmented, but not destroyed. Israel has a multi-stage missile defense system.

The military said rocket fragments hit a train station in the city of Modiin between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and in open areas. A fire broke out southeast of Tel Aviv.

According to his office, Netanyahu said the Houthis should have known that anyone who tried to harm Israel would have to pay a high price. “Anyone who needs a reminder can visit the port in Hudaida,” he said. After a deadly Houthis drone attack on Tel Aviv, the Israeli air force attacked the Yemeni port in July. A major fire broke out there and six people were killed. The Houthis’ leader then announced a new phase in the fight against Israel.

Netanyahu said: “We are in a multi-front war against the Iranian axis of evil that wants to destroy us.” The so-called resistance axis includes militias allied with Iran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi militia in Yemen.

Dozens of rockets were also fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. The Shiite militia Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attacks, which were said to have targeted a military base. The Israeli army announced that around 40 missiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel.

Some of the missiles were intercepted by the missile defense system, while the rest fell in open areas. This caused several fires. In addition, a drone loaded with explosives crossed the border into Israel from Lebanon. It crashed in the area of ​​the city of Metulla. No one was injured in the attacks.

During the night, Israeli air force and artillery attacked targets in Lebanon. A “terrorist cell” was hit, the statement continued. The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Saturday evening that four people – including three children – were injured in an Israeli air strike in northeastern Lebanon.

Since the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas began almost a year ago, there have been almost daily military confrontations between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in the border region between the two countries. There have been deaths on both sides. Hezbollah says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas.

Four Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, according to hospital sources. Three of them were killed when a house in the Nuseirat refugee district in the central Gaza Strip was shelled, according to Al-Auda Hospital. Another Palestinian was killed in an attack in the Jabaliya refugee district, Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip reported. An Israeli military spokesman said they were investigating the reports.

According to military sources, three Israeli hostages who were found dead in the Gaza Strip last year were most likely killed in Israeli bombardment. The Israeli army published the relevant conclusions of an investigation. Two of the men were soldiers, the third had been abducted from the Nova music festival.

The three were most likely killed in an airstrike on November 10, 2023, in which a senior Hamas commander was deliberately killed, it said. “At the time of the attack, the Israeli army had no information about the presence of hostages in the facility that was the target.”

Relatives of the hostages had repeatedly warned the political leadership and the army that the heavy bombardments in the Gaza Strip also endangered the lives of the abducted. According to Israeli information, around 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas. It is unclear how many of them are still alive almost a year after their abduction.