The Houthis launched a ballistic missile toward Israel last night and it landed in a open area without causing injury. It did start a fire but Israeli firefighters extinguished it.
Here’s more from i24:
The Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen at central Israel at 6:21 am on Sunday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The military said that the missile “most likely fragmented in midair.”
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree hailed the missile as a success, saying that a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” targeted Israeli territory. He said it was fired from 2,040 kilometers (1,267 miles) away and flew for 11 and a half minutes.
The IDF said that interception attempts were made, with the results under review. Sirens brought millions of Israelis to shelters, with no casualties reported. Magen David Adom said that five people were lightly wounded rushing to shelters.
“Fallen fragments of the interceptors were identified in open areas and at the Paatei Modi’in Railway Station,” the IDF said. “A fire erupted in an area adjacent to Kfar Daniel. Israel Fire and Rescue Services are currently operating at the scene to extinguish the fire.”
Saree said that this was the fifth phase of the Houthi attack on Israel, in solidarity with Hamas’s war on Israel in the Gaza Strip. Houthi sources said that this attack was not a response to the Hodeidah attack conducted in July by the Israeli air force, which was in turn launched in response to a deadly Houthi drone that hit Tel Aviv.
The Jerusalem Post writes that the Arrow 3 system failed to destroy the missile outside of Israeli air space:
The IDF said that the Arrow air defense system shot the missile down. Still, pieces of shrapnel fell near Gezer and possibly in three other areas, including Paatei Modiin train station near Modiin and Rehovot, signaling that Israel’s systems failed to shoot down the missile outside of Israeli airspace.
IDF sources accepted that the Arrow 3 defense system may have missed the missile outside of Israeli airspace. After an attempt to intercept it using the Iron Dome system, the missile broke up on its own in Israeli airspace.
This miss by the Arrow defend system has led some to believe that it was a cruise missile rather than a ballistic missile. Cruise missiles fly lower and are harder to detect.
Whatever the case, Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu suggested there will be retaliation for this missile attack:
WATCH 🚨
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, at the start of the cabinet meeting today:
“By now, the Houthis should understand that any attempt to harm us comes with a steep price. For anyone needing a reminder, feel free to take a look at the port of Hodeidah.” pic.twitter.com/UlJrNLX3FH
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 15, 2024
