Two Houthi missiles intercepted as one million Israelis rush to shelters

The Iranian-backed Yemeni-based Houthi terrorist militia fired a ballistic missile at central Israel early Thursday morning, around 3 a.m. Israel’s advanced multilayered aerial defense systems successfully intercepted and neutralized the threat. Despite the interception, the missile triggered air raid sirens, sending more than a million Israelis to shelters.

Missile alerts were activated across the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and surrounding regions. As a precaution, flights at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport were temporarily halted.

The missile reportedly did not cause any material damage or cause any direct human casualties. However, Israel’s Magen David Adom (Red Cross) emergency services reported that one person was injured when he rushed to a shelter during the missile attack. 

Just hours later, at noon, the Houthis fired yet another ballistic missile that was also successfully intercepted by air defenses, after setting off sirens in the Jerusalem area, in communities in Judea and Samaria, and in communities near the Dead Sea. Civilians were also alerted a minute before the sirens by a push notification on their phones. 

Yahya Saree, the Houthi spokesperson, posted a claim on 𝕏 on Thursday that the missiles had targeted Ben Gurion airport, Jaffa and Haifa.

The Houthis openly call for Israel’s destruction and have fired hundreds of missiles and drones against the Jewish state since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Israel’s aerial defense systems have successfully intercepted the overwhelming majority of the hostile missiles and drones.

However, in early May, one Houthi missile succeeded in evading Israel’s aerial defense systems and landed close to the entrance of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. While the missile caused minimal damage, many international airlines cancelled their flights to and from Israel due to security concerns. 

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) quickly responded by striking Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen and the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport outside the Yemeni capital. The airport and port facilities play a crucial role in the transfer of arms from the Islamic Republic of Iran to its Houthi terrorist proxy. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic Spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warned Yemeni civilians in advance to evacuate the affected areas. 

“We call upon you to evacuate the airport area – Sana’a International Airport – immediately and warn everyone in your vicinity of the need to evacuate this area immediately. Failure to evacuate and move away from the place exposes you to danger,” Adraee stated. 

The two missiles today come after a similar launch by the Houthis early on Sunday, which was also successfully intercepted, just minutes after Israel’s Yuval Raphael was declared the runner-up at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Basel in Switzerland. 

Last Friday night, Israel reportedly carried out more than 10 strikes on two Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen. According to Ynet defense analyst Ron Ben-Yishai, the strikes – part of an Israeli operation known as Operation Red Sunsets – are intended to prevent Iran from supplying its Houthi proxies with missiles and other military equipment for use against Israel.