Four days after the strike on Ramon Airport and less than 24 hours after the Israeli military bombed Houthi targets in Yemen, the rebels are continuing to launch drones toward Israel. At 3:50 p.m. Thursday, sirens sounded near the Ramon Airport in the Arava desert, and six minutes later also in the southern city of Eilat, amid fears of a drone launched from Yemen.
At 4:11 p.m., the Home Front Command announced that “the incident has ended.” About 15 minutes later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also confirmed the end of the incident but did not clarify how it was resolved, suggesting contact with the drone was lost. The IDF said: “Following alerts in the B’ar Ora and Eilat areas, a suspicious aerial target was identified. The incident has ended.” Magen David Adom said that no rocket impacts or casualties were reported.
Half an hour earlier, the air force reported intercepting another drone launched from Yemen, this one before it crossed into Israeli airspace and without sirens sounding. Earlier Thursday morning, at 5:44 a.m., alerts were triggered near Mitzpe Ramon and the Arava after the Houthis launched a missile, which the IDF intercepted.
On Wednesday afternoon, the IDF struck Houthi targets across Yemen, focusing on weapons depots, fuel storage sites and military bases. Also hit was the rebels’ propaganda headquarters, which the IDF said was “responsible for spreading incitement and propaganda messages.” According to the Houthi-run health ministry, 35 people were killed and 131 were wounded in strikes in the capital Sanaa and in Al-Jawf province. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed that the headquarters of the newspapers 26 September and Al-Yaman were also attacked.
The IDF said the mission was the air force’s longest strike since the war began, reaching more than 2,350 kilometers. More than 10 fighter jets participated, firing over 30 munitions at 15 targets. Several aerial refuelings were also carried out during the mission.
Less than two weeks ago, an Israeli strike in Sanaa killed the Houthis’ prime minister, Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, along with several senior officials and ministers, including the head of the political bureau, the prime minister’s chief of staff, the cabinet secretary, the ministers of justice, economy and trade, foreign affairs, agriculture and information. The IDF later confirmed that the fate of Houthi defense minister Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi and Houthi chief of staff Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari remains unknown.