Air raid sirens sent millions of Israelis scrambling into bomb shelters Thursday night after a missile was launched from Yemen, the military said, only hours after Israel’s largest airstrike to date on Houthi targets in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
The IDF said the projectile was intercepted minutes after the alerts began at 10:39 p.m. Flights bound for Ben Gurion Airport were briefly delayed in the air until the incident ended. By 10:53 p.m., the Home Front Command declared the situation over and told residents they could leave shelters.
Sirens were heard across wide swaths of the country, including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Bat Yam, Givatayim, Herzliya, Holon, Yehud-Monosson, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Ono, Ramat Gan, Ramat Hasharon, Elad, Shoham, Kiryat Malachi, Karnei Shomron and Beit Shemesh. Despite the widespread alerts, emergency medical service said it received no distress calls.
The launch came in apparent retaliation for an Israeli air operation earlier in the day in Sanaa, where the military said more than 65 munitions were dropped on seven Houthi command and intelligence sites in the deepest strike yet carried out in Yemen. The raid, dubbed Operation Passing Package, targeted the Houthis’ general staff headquarters and security apparatus facilities, the IDF said.
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Archival: Israeli air defenses intercept Houthi missile
(Photo: REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta)
That strike followed a drone attack Wednesday in the Red Sea resort town of Eilat that wounded more than 20 people, including two who were airlifted in serious condition from a local hospital to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva. The drone slammed into a busy tourist area, igniting a fire.
Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, have repeatedly targeted Israel with drones and long-range missiles since the Gaza war erupted. On the previous Thursday, millions of Israelis also took cover when another missile was fired from Yemen roughly two hours after a drone hit the entrance to a hotel in Eilat, causing a blaze. That night, the Houthis also launched two additional drones, both intercepted by air defenses.