Houthi missile strikes Israel after countermeasures fail

Houthi missile strikes Israel after countermeasures fail
by AFP Staff Writers
Tel Aviv (AFP) Dec 21, 2024

Israel's military said Saturday it had failed to intercept a "projectile" launched from Yemen that landed in Tel Aviv, with the national medical service saying 16 people were lightly wounded.

Yemen's Iranian-backed Huthi rebels have repeatedly launched missile attacks against Israel since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago, most of which have been intercepted.

In return, Israel has struck multiple targets in Yemen -- including ports and energy facilities in areas controlled by the Huthis.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, one projectile launched from Yemen was identified and unsuccessful interception attempts were made," the Israeli military said on its Telegram channel.

Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's emergency medical service, said 16 people were injured.

"I was at home and heard a loud explosion. I immediately went to the scene and saw significant blast damage to nearby buildings," medic Yosef Kourdi was quoted as saying in a statement released by MDA.

"MDA teams provided medical care to 16 individuals who were mildly injured by glass shards from shattered windows in nearby buildings due to the impact of the strike," the statement said.

- Solidarity with Palestinians -

The Huthi rebels say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and last week pledged to continue operations "until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted".

On December 9, a drone claimed by Huthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.

In July, a Huthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Huthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Huthi targets by US and sometimes British forces.

The rebels said Thursday that Israeli air strikes that day killed nine people, after the group fired a missile towards Israel, badly damaging a school.

Israel said that missile had been intercepted and the school hit by falling debris.

While Israel has previously hit targets in Yemen, Thursday's retaliatory strikes were the first against the rebel-held capital Sanaa.

"The Israeli enemy targeted ports in Hodeida and power stations in Sanaa, and the Israeli aggression resulted in the martyrdom of nine civilian martyrs," rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Huthi said in a lengthy speech broadcast by the rebels' Al-Masira TV.

Israel said it struck the targets in Yemen after intercepting a missile fired from the country, a strike the rebels subsequently claimed.

Huthi spokesman Yahya Saree said they had fired ballistic missiles at "two specific and sensitive military targets... in the occupied Yaffa area", referring to the Jaffa district of Tel Aviv.

Houthi missile strikes Israel after countermeasures fail
Washington DC (UPI) Dec 21, 2024 - A missile launched by Yemen-based Houthis struck Tel Aviv-Jaffa and caused minor injuries to 16 after Israeli countermeasures failed to intercept the missile early Saturday morning.

Houthi forces in Yemen said they launched a hypersonic ballistic missile named "Palestine 2" that landed and detonated in the Jaffa area near Tel Aviv, NBC News reported.

The missile didn't cause any significant property damage and only minor injuries from shattered glass that required civilians to obtain medical treatment.

Houthi leaders said the missile attack was in retaliation for the "massacres against our brothers in Gaza."

"The missile hit its target accurately and the defense and interception systems failed to intercept it," Houthi leaders said in a statement issued Saturday morning.

The Houthis said they struck a military target, but the Israeli military said it landed in a public park early in the morning, the BBC reported.

Israel Defense Forces confirmed a single missile landed in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area after the IDF failed to intercept it and sounded sirens warning civilians of the incoming missile.

A photo of the missile's impact site showed a small crater in the ground with playground equipment located nearby.

The resulting explosion shattered glass on nearby buildings, which caused minor injuries.

The missile attack occurred shortly after an Israeli airstrike struck a house in northern Gaza on Friday night, killing several people, some of whom were children.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported 25 deaths Friday from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

Twelve died when a house in Jabaliya in northern Gaza was struck with most of the victims being children and one woman, the Health Ministry reported.

Israel also targeted Yemen's capital city of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah with an airstrike that killed nine on Thursday.

That airstrike occurred after Israel intercepted a missile the Houthis launched at Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday confirmed the military action against Houthi targets in Yemen.

"We did this in response to repeated Houthi attacks against civilian targets in Israel," Netanyahu said. "Last night they attacked a school in Ramat Gan."

Netanyahu said the Houthis are nearly the "last arm of Iran's axis of evil" following the apparent defeat of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Assad regime in Syria and "are attacking the entire world" by targeting international shipping and commercial lanes.

"Thus, when Israel takes action against the Houthis, it is acting on behalf of the entire international community," Netanyahu said. "They are finding out, and will find out, the hard way that whoever harms Israel will pay a very heavy price."