ARAB AND WORLD

Sun 15 Sep 2024 9:35 am - Jerusalem Time

Houthi group launches missile at Tel Aviv

The Israeli army announced early Sunday that a rocket fired from Yemen fell in an open area in the center of the country, stressing that this did not result in any injuries.


Nine Israelis were slightly injured by shrapnel from an interceptor missile, Israeli ambulance crews reported.


Israeli media reported that the Yemeni missile reached Tel Aviv after penetrating Israeli air defenses and the airspace of a number of Arab countries.


The official Israeli radio reported that the Iron Dome and Arrow systems failed in their attempts to intercept the ballistic missile launched from Yemen.


The initial investigation by the Israeli Air Force indicated that all the interceptor missiles launched by the Israeli air defenses towards the Yemeni missile failed to intercept it, according to what the Israeli Channel 14 reported.


The Israeli army said in a statement, "Following up on the warnings in the central region of the country, it is reported that a surface-to-surface missile was launched from the east and fell in an open area without causing any injuries." It indicated in a later statement that "the missile was launched from Yemen."


Sirens sounded on Sunday morning in Tel Aviv and its surroundings, where the Arrow 2 air defense system and the Iron Dome were activated to intercept the missile launched from Yemen, but were unable to intercept it.


The Israeli army fired a large number of different defensive missiles at the missile but did not intercept it.


A fire broke out at the site of the missile that targeted the greater Tel Aviv area, noting that the missile fell in an open area, and it appears that the air defense system failed to intercept it.


Israeli media reported that for the first time, the Houthis were able to launch a missile or ballistic missiles towards the center of the country, and that a lot of money was spent on a single Yemeni missile, without the Israeli air defenses being able to intercept it.


The Israeli Army Radio reported that the ballistic missile launched from Yemen fell in the area of Highway No. 1 near Kfar Daniel in central Israel, while fragments of the missile fell in other places in the area of the train station in the settlement of Modi'in.


The Israeli army claimed to have detected the missile, which was launched from Yemen, for several minutes before it reached its target. It is not clear why the interception attempts were made over central Israel and not far from its borders, according to Israel's Channel 14.


Following the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen repeatedly announced the launching of missiles and drones towards Israel.


On July 20, the Israeli Air Force attacked the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah in western Yemen, the day after they claimed responsibility for a drone attack that killed one person in Tel Aviv. It was the first time Israel had claimed responsibility for an attack on Yemen.


Following this attack, the Houthis confirmed that the response to it was "coming" and "inevitable."


For months, the Houthis have been launching attacks targeting ships off the coast of Yemen, which they say are linked to or heading to Israel, stressing that this comes in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is being subjected to a war of genocide.

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Houthi group launches missile at Tel Aviv