Jerusalem, Jan 18 (IANS) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen toward southeastern Israel.
Sirens were activated in the southernmost Red Sea city of Eilat and the Arava Valley following the missile launch.
According to the IDF, the missile was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, and no casualties were reported.
This marked the second missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi group towards Israel on Saturday, following an earlier launch aimed at central Israel, which was also intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems.
Israel’s state-owned Kan TV News reported that fragments from the first missile interception were found by police in four locations across central Israel, with no casualties or damage resulting from the event, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Thursday, Yemen’s Houthi group’s leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said his group would continue launching attacks against Israel if strikes continue on Gaza.
Earlier in the day, the Houthi group said in a statement that it had launched a ballistic missile targetting the Israeli Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv.
“In support for the Palestinian people and their Mujahideen (Hamas), we carried out a qualitative military operation, targeting the Ministry of Defence of the Israeli enemy in Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV on Saturday.
“The missile reached its target with high accuracy, and the (Israeli) interception systems failed to intercept it,” he claimed.
Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom said there were no reports of casualties, except for panic attacks and people bruised on their way to shelter.
–IANS
int/as
