The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the missile hit following ‘unsuccessful interception attempts.’
By JNS
Sixteen Israelis were wounded overnight Friday when a supersonic ballistic missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen struck a residential area in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa neighborhood at 3:44 a.m. A crater was created in a playground.
Magen David Adom paramedics treated at least 14 people hurt, mainly by shards of glass created by the impact.
They were evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) in Tel Aviv.
Another 14 people were injured on the way to a protected area and seven others suffered from anxiety. Millions of residents in the greater Tel Aviv area entered protected spaces after hearing air-raid sirens.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the missile hit following “unsuccessful interception attempts.”
The military was probing the circumstances of the attack.
The Israeli Air Force struck terror targets in Yemen before dawn on Thursday, after a Houthi missile hit an elementary school in Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv.
The IDF said that there was only “a partial interception of the missile launched from Yemen and that the warhead [likely] exploded and damaged the school.” The IAF and Home Front Command were conducting a more in-depth probe.
The damage caused from a Ballistic missile fired from Yemen at a school in Ramat Gan, December 19, 2024. (Flash90/Avshalom Sassoni)
The Israeli strikes against the Houthis were carried out in two waves by 14 fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes, which were already en route to Yemen when the enemy fired its ballistic missile at Ramat Gan around 2:35 a.m. on Thursday.
The first IAF strikes hit at 3:15 a.m., targeting the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea as well as the Hodeidah and Salif ports. Eight tugboats, used for guiding ships into the ports, were also destroyed.
At 4:30 a.m., the second wave targeted the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, hitting the Haziz and D’Habban power stations, according to reports.
“Over the past year, the Houthi terrorist regime has been operating with the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias, in order to attack the State of Israel and Israeli civilians,” the IDF said following the IAF operation.
“The conducted strikes degrade the Houthi terrorist regime, preventing it from exploiting the targets for military and terrorist purposes, including the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the region,” the statement continued.
“The IDF is determined to continue operating against all threats posed to the citizens of the State of Israel, wherever necessary.”
On Monday, a Houthi missile triggered air-raid sirens in the greater Tel Aviv area. Earlier, an Israeli Navy ship intercepted a Houthi drone over the Red Sea before it crossed into Israeli territory.
On Dec. 9, a Houthi drone hit a residential high-rise building in the central Israeli city of Yavne, northeast of Ashdod. On Dec. 1, a ballistic missile launched from Yemen triggered sirens in the Judean Foothills (the Shfela region).
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched over 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in support of Hamas since the Gaza-based terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in the northwestern Negev.
In July, a Houthi drone killed a civilian in central Tel Aviv. In response, Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah Port.
On Sept. 29, the Israeli Air Force carried out dozens of strikes in the area of Hodeidah. The targets included “power plants and a seaport, which were used by the Houthis to transfer Iranian weapons to the region, in addition to military supplies and oil,” the IDF said.