Israeli army intercepts missile over Red Sea aimed at Eilat

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army said Wednesday that it had successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile aimed at the southern city of Eilat.

A military statement said the missile was shot down over the Red Sea by the long-range Arrow air defense system.

The army said the missile was intercepted before it entered Israel’s airspace.

The military did not specify from where the missile was launched, but it is widely believed that it was fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who declared firing cruise missiles and explosive-laden drones towards Israel in past days in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Houthi rebel group, for its part, confirmed that it had fired a barrage of ballistic missiles towards military locations in Israel’s southern city of Eilat.

''We will continue our military operations against the Israeli enemy and prevent Israeli ships from navigating in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea in support of the oppressed Palestinian people until the aggression on Gaza stops,” rebel spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Friday after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 16,248 Palestinians have been killed and more than 43,616 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar and Mohammad Sio