Israel intercepts missile coming from Yemen, warns of giving ‘severe blow’ to Houthi terrorists
Israel’s military said early Tuesday it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
The military said the missile set off a siren in the air, but caused no damage after being destroyed before entering Israeli territory.
Yemen-based Houthi militants have fired several missiles at Israel since Hamas launched attacks on Israel in October 2023, sparking a war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s response has included airstrikes on Houthi targets, and on Monday Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Houthi leaders would face the same fate as leaders of Hamas and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group who died in Israeli strikes. Are.
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all supported by Iran, and all are designated as terrorist groups by the United States and others.
Katz confirmed on Monday that Israel was responsible for the August explosion in Tehran that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Israel was widely believed to be behind the attack, but Monday’s comments appeared to be Israel’s first public admission.
Israeli forces have killed several Hezbollah leaders in recent months amid intense fighting in southern and eastern Lebanon. The conflict has cooled with a month-old ceasefire while negotiators including Egypt, the United States and Qatar continue to try to stop the fighting in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech in the Knesset on Monday that “some progress” has been made in ongoing talks to secure the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.
“Everything we are doing cannot be disclosed,” Netanyahu said. “I want to say with caution that some progress has been made and we will not stop taking action until we send all of them home.” Don’t bring it.”
Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage in an October 2023 attack on southern Israel. About 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, although at least a third are believed to be dead.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 45,200 people have been killed in Israeli counter-attacks in Gaza. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its counting.
Netanyahu also said on Monday he wanted to sign new peace deals with Arab countries, similar to the 2020 Abraham Accords the US negotiated for Israel and several Arab countries.
“Moderate Arab countries view Israel as a regional power and potential ally,” Netanyahu said.
Some information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.