A missile launched from Yemen late Friday set off air raid sirens across central Israel before striking near the home of an 85-year-old woman outside the city of Lod. No injuries were reported.
The missile landed in the yard of Ilana Hatoumi’s house in Ginton, a small farming community near Lod, shattering windows and cutting electricity.
The shrapnel from the Houthi missile
(Photo: Moti Kimchi, Meir Turgeman, Hevel Modi’in Regional Council)
“I was sitting in the shelter, I heard a boom, everything exploded — and that’s it,” Hatoumi told Ynetnews. “The windows shattered. We’re fine, I’m healthy. Nothing happened, everything can be fixed. It’s only property damage.”
Her daughter, Shira, said the family was fortunate Hatoumi heard the siren and went into the safe room. “The whole house shook and everything shattered. Thank God she’s fine, a bit shaken but fine. She’s a strong woman,” she said.
The IDF said a preliminary review suggested the missile broke apart in the air. Air defense systems attempted several interceptions. Departures and landings at Ben Gurion Airport were briefly halted.
A senior Houthi official, Nasser al-Din Amer, claimed the missile split into multiple warheads.
Police said bomb disposal experts were working at the scene and urged residents to stay away from areas where fragments fell.
“It’s a great miracle there were no casualties and that she followed the guidelines,” said Assaf Iluz, security chief of the Hevel Modi'in Regional Council.