A ballistic missile fired at Israel by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen activated air-raid sirens in the eastern Gush Etzion region of Judea and the Dead Sea area on Thursday night, the Israel Defense Forces said.
“Following the sirens that sounded in the areas of Judea and the Dead Sea, one launch that was approaching from Yemen towards Israeli territory was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the military confirmed in a statement on social media.
Alerts were activated in the Gush Etzion communities of Tekoa, Pnei Kedem, Nokdim, Ma’ale Rehav’am, Ma’aleh Amos, Metzad and Kfar Eldad, as well as in Ein Gedi and Mitzpe Shalem near the Dead Sea, sending thousands of Israeli civilians running for bomb shelters. Some people in Efrat heard it too.
On Nov. 11, a Houthi missile triggered sirens across the Judean Foothills and the Lachish region, including in Beit Shemesh, Adora, Tzora, Beit Guvrin, Sarigim, Karmei Tzur, Kfar Etzion and Kiryat Arba. The missile was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, according to the IDF.
Yemen’s Houthi militia has launched numerous attacks on the Jewish state in support of Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
In July, a Houthi drone killed a civilian in central Tel Aviv, in response to which Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah Port in a major aerial attack.
On Sept. 29, the Israeli Air Force carried out dozens of strikes in the area of Hodeidah. Jerusalem said the targets included “power plants and a seaport, which were used by the Houthis to transfer Iranian weapons to the region, in addition to military supplies and oil.”
