Israel army says attempted to intercept missile fired from Yemen

Israel’s military said early Tuesday it had tried several times to shoot down a missile fired from Yemen which sent sirens blaring across the centre of the country.

The latest fire came less than a day after Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they launched a missile towards Tel Aviv, which Israeli forces said they intercepted.

“Following the sirens that sounded in a number of areas in central Israel, several attempts were made to intercept a missile that was launched from Yemen,” the military said in a statement issued around 3:30 am (0130 GMT).

“The missile was likely intercepted,” it said, adding that no injuries or damages were reported.

The announcement came on the heels of a Monday night attack, in which a projectile launched from Yemen was intercepted “prior to crossing into Israeli territory”, according to the military.

Houthis said they had launched a “hypersonic missile” at a target in “occupied Jaffa”, a reference to the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv.

The rebels also said they had launched four drones towards the same region and pledged to continue their operations until “the end of the aggression against the Palestinians”.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

The rebel group controls swathes of Yemen, and Israel has struck Houthi targets several times inside the country including in the capital Sanaa.