Air raid sirens warning of a possible hostile aircraft were activated Thursday in the southern Israeli communities of Bnei Netzarim and Naveh, near the Gaza border and close to Egypt. The military said an Israeli Air Force jet intercepted a drone that had been launched from Yemen.
The interception followed a string of recent long-range attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Last Friday, the air force downed another drone from Yemen after fighter jets gave chase after it and several interceptor missiles were fired.
Later, the IDF said the air force intercepted another drone launched from Yemen before it entered Israeli territory. “Alerts were activated in open areas in accordance with policy,” the statement said.
Early Wednesday, sirens sounded across the Jerusalem area after a Houthi missile was fired toward Israel. The projectile was intercepted, with alerts triggered in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Maaleh Adumim, Mevasseret Zion, Beitar Illit, Kiryat Arba, Hebron and the Dead Sea region. The Magen David Adom rescue service said no injuries or damage were reported. Flights at Ben Gurion International Airport were briefly halted during the incident but soon resumed.
On Sunday, Israel carried out retaliatory strikes in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, targeting the abandoned presidential palace, a fuel depot and power stations. More than 10 fighter jets participated in the operation, using about 35 munitions. The military said the farthest target struck was over 2,000 kilometers away—more than five and a half hours of flight time—requiring several in-air refuelings.
Israeli airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen
The strikes came shortly after the army released initial findings from its investigation into a missile launched from Yemen the previous Friday, confirming it carried a cluster warhead—the first time the Houthis had fired the internationally banned weapon at Israel. That missile struck a home in the town of Ginton in central Israel. Military officials said the failed interception was under review but was unrelated to the type of warhead used.
The cluster design allows a missile to disperse multiple smaller munitions over a wide area. Israeli officials said the country’s layered air defenses are capable of intercepting such threats, as demonstrated in past engagements.