Israel military intercepts missile fired from Yemen, Houthis claim attack

Israeli air defenses intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen on Sunday, the military said, and Yemen’s Houthi movement said it had targeted the Israeli Red Sea city of Eilat with multiple missiles.

The Israeli military said its Arrow 3 missile defense system had shot down the projectile before it crossed into Israeli territory.

Before the interception, air raid sirens had sounded in Eilat, sending residents running for shelter.

The latest exchange between Israel and Iran-backed Houthis followed a strike on Saturday by Israeli fighter jets on Houthi military targets near Yemen’s Hodeidah port that killed at least three people and wounded 87.

That airstrike was in response to a long-range drone launched by the Houthis that hit the center of Tel Aviv on Friday, killing one man and wounding four others.

The strike on Yemen, which Israeli officials said came after more than 200 Houthi attacks on Israel, underlined fears that the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, could spiral into a regional conflict.