Hours after the Israeli Navy's attack on the Houthi port of Hodeidah, alarms are sounded Tuesday evening in central Israel and other areas after a missile was fired from Yemen.
The IDF said that the missile "was most likely intercepted," and that "additional interceptors were launched due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception."
Interceptions in Israeli skies following fire from Yemen
(Video: Meshi Ayed, Rafi Lahav, Yoav Yaari)
The sirens were activated hours after the Israeli Navy carried out two consecutive strikes in the morning on the port of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold. This came hours after the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the ports of Ras Issa, Hodeidah, and Al-Salif. Unlike previous strikes in Yemen, the Air Force did not participate in this attack.
The strike was carried out solely by Flotilla 3 – the missile ship flotilla – which fired toward the port using advanced Saar 6-class missile ships and other vessels operating in the northern Red Sea.
At 7:00 a.m., two long-range precision missiles, carrying a significant amount of explosives, were launched at the port’s pier infrastructure and hit their targets. The strike aimed to damage critical infrastructure in the port, particularly the docking and entry areas that serve as a key conduit for transferring weapons and military equipment to the Houthis. Among other things, the port is used to transport missiles launched toward Israel and other targets in the southern Red Sea.
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Israeli defense sources described the port as a significant "bottleneck" for the Houthis' armament efforts.
The goal, as stated, is to reduce the Houthis’ maritime trade activity and to deter commercial companies from docking in the area. The IDF has designated the port as a combat zone and stated that the strike is part of Israel's long-term effort to target Houthi infrastructure, with the objective of limiting their ability to arm themselves and launch missiles.