Late-night Houthi ballistic missile attack thwarted by IDF, without widespread sirens
No injuries or damage reported; in contrast with other recent attacks, warnings sound only in a single town
A ballistic missile fired toward Israel from Yemen was intercepted early Sunday morning, the military said, with air raid sirens largely remaining silent despite the threat.
The attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group just after midnight was the latest in a series of middle-of-the-night attacks that have sent millions scrambling for shelter, upending daily life in Israel and occasionally causing widespread destruction.
The Israel Defense Forces said the single ballistic missile “was intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory.”
The Houthis later took responsibility for the missile launch, claiming to have targeted the Orot Rabin power plant near Hadera, in the north of Israel’s heavily populated central coastal region. It would mark the deepest claimed strike in Israel by the Houthis. Previous attacks by the Houthis have targeted the Tel Aviv area and southern Israel.
The Iran-backed terror group claimed that “the operation successfully achieved its objectives.”
Sirens only sounded in the town of Talmei Elazar, an agricultural community near Hadera. The military said the warnings were triggered there “according to protocol,” without providing details.
In previous attacks, sirens have sounded across wide swaths of the country, seemingly due to fears of falling shrapnel, which can cover a large area due to the speed of the long-range missiles and the height at which they are intercepted.
Loud blasts were reported in several areas around central Israel following the interception, and videos showed flaming pieces of shrapnel streaking toward Earth.
Footage posted to social media shows fragments falling following an apparent successful interception of a Houthi ballistic missile fired at Israel. pic.twitter.com/B9Znw3T2Sj
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 4, 2025
There were no reports of impacts, injuries or damage.
A spokesperson for the Houthis accused Israel of lying about the interception, and said the attacks would continue until Israel’s military campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza ended.
Following the attack, the Houthi’s Saba news agency and Al-Masirah TV reported three raids east of the Houthi-controlled city of Saada, in Yemen’s mountainous northwest, attributing the operations to the United States and Britain.
There was no immediate comment from either military.
The Iran-backed rebels have stepped up their attacks since a November ceasefire between Israel and another Iran-backed terror group, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
While most of the missiles and drones launched from Yemen have been intercepted, one missile wounded 16 people in Tel Aviv in December, according to the military and emergency services.
A number of people have also been injured while rushing for shelter.
On Friday, the military said it successfully shot down a ballistic fired by the Houthis in the hours before dawn, though a fragment of a projectile impacted near the central city of Modiin.
No physical injuries were reported as a direct result of the attack. However, medics treated at least nine people who suffered from acute anxiety and 12 who were hurt while seeking shelter, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.
Later on Friday morning, a drone launched at Israel from Yemen was successfully intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, the military said.
Israel and Western allies have carried out several sorties against Houthi targets in Yemen, including Sanaa’s international airport, but they have failed to stem the attacks.
According to the IDF, the Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past 12 months, including 13 missiles and 10 drones since the start of December.
The Yemeni rebels have also been firing at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — destabilizing a vital shipping lane and prompting reprisal strikes by the United States and sometimes Britain against Houthi targets.
