The Israeli Air Force said Saturday it is investigating why its defenses failed to intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that struck near Tel Aviv on Friday night, leaving debris in the yard of a home in the central town of Ginaton.
Military officials are examining whether the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran during June’s 12-day war, which disperse smaller explosives over a wide area. At the time, Israeli defense analysts concluded that several Iranian missiles carried secondary warheads that detonated upon impact, based on evidence collected from multiple strike sites.
Incoming missile from Yemen breaks apart in midair over Israeli skies
Shortly after Friday’s launch, senior Houthi official Nasruddin Amer released a video — the authenticity of which could not be confirmed — purporting to show the missile breaking apart in midair. He claimed the footage demonstrated the weapon “splitting into several missiles over Israeli skies.” In a follow-up post, Amer said the clips “clearly show the missile reaching its target, disproving enemy claims of interception,” and called the incident a failure of Israel’s layered missile defense system.
During June’s conflagration with Iran, the IDF Home Front Command warned civilians that some submunitions might remain unexploded on the ground. “Do not touch suspicious objects or unexploded ordnance. Call 100 immediately,” the alert said at the time.
The Houthis later claimed responsibility for Friday’s strike, with their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, saying the Iran-backed group had fired a Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport. The projectile triggered sirens across central Israel at 8:59 p.m. and ultimately struck the garden of an 85-year-old elderly woman's home in Ginaton, near Lod.
“I was sitting in the shelter, I heard a boom, everything exploded — and that was it,” homeowner Ilana Hatoumi told Ynet. She remained calm, adding: “The windows shattered. We’re fine, I’m healthy. Nothing happened that can’t be fixed. It’s just property damage.”
The IDF said initial findings indicated the missile “likely broke apart in the air.” Several interception attempts were made by air defenses during the attack, the military said.x