IDF intercepts second Houthi missile of the day after earlier downing cluster bomb

The Israeli military said it intercepted a second missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday evening.

The missile triggered sirens in the Jerusalem area and parts of the southern West Bank, shortly before 7:30 p.m. It followed a morning launch that triggered sirens in central Israel, which was also intercepted.

There were no injuries reported in either incident.

The military later revealed that missile intercepted in the morning carried a cluster bomb warhead. A similar incident was recorded on August 24, when an Israeli Air Force investigation determined the Iran-backed Houthis had, for the first time, used a ballistic missile with a cluster bomb warhead.

In that attack, one of the munitions struck the yard of a home in the central community of Ginaton, causing light damage. The military said the failure to intercept that missile was unrelated to the type of warhead it carried.

Wednesday’s launches came as the group continued its wave of missile and drone launches over the past week, after Israeli airstrikes killed the Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi and several members of his cabinet.

On Tuesday, the IDF said that two Houthi missiles launched towards Israel had disintegrated over Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis also recently launched several missiles at ships linked to Israel, though there have been no reported impacts.

According to Saudi reports, the remaining Houthi leaders have fled the rebel-held capital of Sanaa, out of fear of further Israeli strikes.

The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel.

The Houthis held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By then, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July 2024, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, they have launched more than 70 ballistic missiles and at least 23 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.

Neither the UN nor the EU recognizes the group as the legitimate government in Yemen, and the UN designates the Houthis as a terrorist organization. The Western-recognized Republic of Yemen, which is battling the rebels, is the country’s official representative at the UN.