IDF downs missile from Yemen, sirens blare across Israel

It was the first time air-raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem since the Iranian attack on Oct. 1.

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces overnight Friday intercepted a missile fired by Houthi terrorists in Yemen that triggered air-raid sirens across the Jerusalem, Judea and Dead Sea areas.

The missile was downed outside of Israeli airspace, according to the military, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Sirens sounded in dozens of Israeli communities. It was the first time air-raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem since the Iranian attack on Oct. 1.

The previous night, sirens blared in the greater Tel Aviv area as the IDF intercepted another Houthi missile fired from Yemen. A U.S.-made THAAD anti-missile battery assisted in the interception, in the first such instance since the system was deployed to Israel in October.

On Thursday, the Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on the western coast of and deep inside Yemen, including at Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital.

The targets included the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, in addition to terror infrastructure in the Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports.

“These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” the IDF said.

“The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world. … The IDF will not hesitate to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” added the statement.

Speaking from IAF headquarters after the strike on the second night of Chanukah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is engaged in a modern-day Maccabean struggle.

“We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran’s axis of evil,” the prime minister said. “We will persist in this until we complete the task.”

Sitting beside Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that anyone responsible for attacking Israel is a potential target.

“We will hunt down all the Houthi leaders—we will strike them as we have done in other places,” Katz said. “No one will be able to evade Israel’s long reach.”

Houthi terrorists have launched over 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in support of Hamas since the terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The terrorist group has escalated its attacks in the past 10 days, scoring hits on Israel’s densely populated central region.

Overnight Monday, a woman in her 60s was critically injured when she struck her head while rushing to a shelter in Tel Aviv during sirens triggered by another Houthi missile.

Before dawn on Dec. 19, the warhead from an intercepted missile hit an elementary school in Ramat Gan, collapsing the school’s main building but causing no injuries. The following night, a missile hit a playground in a residential area of Jaffa, lightly wounding 16 people.

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency session on Monday to discuss the escalating Houthi attacks, at Israel’s request.