Israeli army reports intercepting missile fired from Yemen

ANKARA

The Israeli army claimed on Saturday that it successfully intercepted a missile launched from Yemen with air raid sirens going off in the greater Tel Aviv area and Jerusalem following the attack.

According to a statement from the Israeli army, the missile was fired from Yemen and defense systems were activated in response to the threat.

The missile was intercepted before it could reach its intended target, it added.

Israeli ambulance services reported dealing with several cases of panic and injuries as residents rushed to shelters following the sirens' activation.

In addition, flight operations at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv were temporarily suspended following the missile launch, according to Israeli Channel 12.

However, Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Yemeni Houthi group, said in a statement that it had targeted the Israeli Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile, asserting that the "Zulfiqar missile hit its target with high precision, and the interception systems failed to counter it.”

"We are coordinating with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza to take appropriate military action against any violations or military escalations by the (Israeli) enemy during the implementation of the ceasefire agreement," Saree added.

The Houthis have targeted Israeli cargo ships or the ones linked with Tel Aviv in the Red Sea with missiles and drones in a show of support for the Gaza Strip, where nearly 47,000 people have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023.

Since early 2024, a coalition led by the US has been carrying out airstrikes that it said target Houthi locations in Yemen in response to the group’s Red Sea attacks, with occasional retaliation from the Houthis.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi and Rania Abu Shamala