Missile from Yemen landed in Jaffa park early Saturday

Several interceptors failed to knock down Houthi missile that hit Tel Aviv — IDF probe

Military says it has already implemented lessons from Air Force, Home Front Command investigations; drone likely also launched by Yemeni rebels shot down over south

By Emanuel Fabian
and ToI Staff 21 December 2024, 10:26 pm Edit
Israeli emergency responders inspect a crater at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen struck, in Tel Aviv early on December 21, 2024. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Israeli emergency responders inspect a crater at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen struck, in Tel Aviv early on December 21, 2024. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

After a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen impacted a playground in south Tel Aviv early Saturday, the Israeli military said that it had implemented lessons learned from failed attempts to intercept the missile.

“The incident is still being thoroughly investigated,” the Israel Defense Forces said, adding that following initial investigations by the Israeli Air Force and Home Front Command, “some of the conclusions have already been implemented, both regarding interception and early warning.”

“No further details regarding aerial defense activities and the alert system can be given due to operational security considerations,” the IDF added.

According to an initial IAF probe, several different types of interceptor missiles were launched at the target. Interception attempts were made both above and in the atmosphere.

Israel operates a multi-tiered air defense array, which includes the short-range Iron Dome, the medium-range David’s Sling, and the long-range Arrow system, the latter of which is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere.

The interceptors all failed to knock down the missile, which ultimately exploded in a public park in Jaffa, south Tel Aviv, causing damage to nearby homes and wounding several.

Medics said 16 people were lightly injured by shattered glass, including a three-year-old girl, while 14 were bruised while rushing to shelters.

Footage from the park showed a crater where the missile had impacted.

The missile triggered sirens throughout central Israel at 3:44 a.m., sending millions rushing to shelters from their beds, the second time in as many days that a Houthi missile sparked alerts in the center in the middle of the night.

Early Thursday morning, a partially-intercepted missile fired from Yemen crashed into an empty school building in the city of Ramat Gan, causing severe damage but no injuries.

A short while later, the IDF carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, though the operation had been in planning for weeks, and jets were already in the air when the missile was launched. Dozens of planes struck Houthi targets along Yemen’s western coast and, for the first time, in the rebel-held capital Sana’a.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Al Arabiya network reported Saturday that Houthi leaders had begun to leave the Yemeni capital of Sana’a in recent days. The report cited sources as saying that the leaders left Sana’a in anticipation that Israel would carry out targeted retaliatory attacks on political and military leadership inside the city.

Following the missile attack, Houthi official Hezam al-Asad posted several mocking messages to X, some of them in Hebrew.

In one post in Hebrew, he wrote: “The failure of all Israeli defense systems means that the heart of the Zionist enemy is no longer secure.”

In another, he said: “There is no longer any use for interception systems that cost billions of dollars.”

In an Arabic post, he wrote: “The enemy is trying to minimize its losses in the media to maintain its military standing and the morale of its settlers. It portrays the areas where the interceptor missiles fell as targets hit by [our] missiles.”

Also Saturday, the IDF said that the IAF intercepted a drone that entered Israeli airspace in southern Israel “from the east,” meaning likely from Yemen.

The drone crossed the border via Egypt, a route previously seen with drones launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis.

Sirens had sounded in several communities near the border with the Gaza Strip amid the incident and footage showed IAF helicopters shooting down the drone.

Houthi rebels have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel. While most are shot down, some managing to reach the country and cause death and destruction. Thursday’s strikes marked Israel’s third counterattack on areas in Yemen held by the rebel group.

The Houthis began their attacks following Hamas’s October 7 massacre in Israel, seeking to add pressure on Israel, along with other Iran-aligned groups such as Hezbollah. The Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year. According to the IDF, the vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and Israeli allies in the region.

The group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping.

Most Popular
read more: