IDF says it shot down cruise missile — apparently fired by Houthis — over Red Sea
F-35 stealth jet intercepts missile before it enters Israeli territory; no group immediately claims responsibility, though senior Houthi official tweets ‘What’s going on in Eilat?’
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday a fighter jet successfully shot down an incoming cruise missile over the Red Sea, close to the southernmost city of Eilat.
The missile is believed to have been fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
The Houthis have fired several ballistic missiles and drones at Eilat since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war last month, all of which were intercepted or missed their targets. On Sunday, Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader, an Israel-linked cargo ship sailing in the Red Sea.
The IDF said the missile did not enter Israeli territory. Air raid sirens went off in the southern resort city of Eilat around the time of the incident.
An F-35 stealth plane was sent out to intercept the missile, the military said. It did not specify how far the weapon was from the country when the jet shot it down.
Though no group took responsibility, Hezam al-Asad, a member of the Iran-backed Houthi’s political bureau, wrote on the social media platform X, in Hebrew, “What is happening in Eilat?”
Al-Asad occasionally posts Hebrew-language taunts at Israel.
Sirens sound in Eilat. pic.twitter.com/2uuznjOVsG
— Roya News English (@RoyaNewsEnglish) November 22, 2023
Though Israel has used jets to intercept some Houthi attacks, it has also successfully intercepted missiles using the Arrow air defense system.
Earlier this month marked the first time that Israel’s most advanced air defense system, the Arrow 3, made a successful interception of a missile. Previous interceptions with the Arrow system in recent weeks used the older Arrow 2 missile.
Sunday’s capture of the Galaxy Leader and its 25 international crew members came days after the Houthis threatened to target Israeli shipping over the Israel-Hamas war.
The Bahaman-flagged vessel is registered under a British company, which is partially owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar. The vessel was leased out to a Japanese company at the time of the hijacking.
According to the IDF, the ship was sailing from Turkey to India with an international civilian crew, without any Israelis aboard.
“This is not an Israeli ship,” the IDF asserted, while directly blaming the Houthis for the hijacking.
The recent attacks are the first entry into a foreign war for the Houthis, who control much of impoverished Yemen and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.
The Houthis say they are acting as part of an “axis of resistance” against Israel that also includes Iran-backed terror groups in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
The leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, has vowed that the launching of missiles and drones into southern Israel “will continue.”
War erupted on October 7 when Hamas launched a devastating attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Over 3,000 terrorists burst through the border from the Gaza Strip, slaughtering those they found and abducting at least 240 people who were taken captive in Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at destroying Hamas and removing the terror group from power in Gaza, where it has been the de facto ruler since 2007.
Earlier this month, a drone launched from Syria crashed into a school in Eilat, causing some damage to the school. There were no serious injuries in the blast, but the Magen David Adom ambulance service treated five people for acute anxiety, as well as a man in his 20s for smoke inhalation.
The IDF said at the time that it had targeted the organization in Syria that launched the drone, without specifying who was behind the attack or what the air force hit.
